“INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS” ***
The Coen Brothers are known for their respectful gift for storytelling and cinematic skills, their extraordinary collaboration conceiving irresistible fables of human research and also for their ability in creating unforgettable eccentric characters. Here the beloved due introduces us to a young melancholic and desperate folk singer trying to make it on the music scene in the chilly winter of New York in 1962. The narrative follows him through a few days of his life as he’s struggling to find meaning for himself. Broke and homeless, he’s jumping from one apartment to the other, enduring humiliations and uneasiness while trying to control a snowball of issues and obstacles popping up on his way: the contempt of his last lover, who’s the wife of a friend undesirably carrying his child, protecting a cat that escaped from an apartment on the Upper Side where he meets high society folk admires, begging for a gig or a record deal, collecting money to travel in search of an opportunity but mostly, he’s saddened inside because of the lack his partner’s death caused over him. As everyone around reminds him of how terrible things turned up after that tragedy he’s facing failure, insecurity and hopelessness as a consequence of his irresponsible lifestyle, his desires and passion for music, but is determined to keep moving towards his goals.
Oscar Isaac gives a fine performance as the protagonist, title of the album he recorded, revealing his talent and strength as a front leader, with a moving and heartbreaking lonely persona, a melancholic moody, who resembles of a lost dog drifting the streets searching for redemption and shelter during a brutal winter. The cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel reminds of the magnificence and grandiosity of moving images with inspired breathtaking shots, while the high quality music presents classic Folk rhythms with enthusiasm and good humor, even when some lyrics sound kind of awkward. Through his journey Llewyn crosses paths with figures that could show him some light, and some could make things even worse. They’re brilliantly played with characteristics and aesthetic of a Coen scenario, where everything is unpredictable, by Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Adam Driver and a surprisingly good Justin Timberlake. The film has been collecting praises all over the world since it debuted in Cannes, and with the Award Season just getting kicked off this week with the Gotham Awards, where it won the Top Prize for Best Picture, the NY Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography and the National Board of Review Prize for Original Screenplay, this new dark comedy by the geniuses brothers Joel and Ethan Coen, is sure to make a lot of noise until the Oscar.
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