Wednesday 3 May 2017

'Inside Llewyn Davis'' (2013 film)- Review

Directed by: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Released: 2013
Country: United States

Genre: Dark comedy, Drama

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review

Set in the 1960s, ''Inside Llewyn Davis'' follows a few days in the life of folk singer Llewyn Davis (played by Oscar Isaac). Llewyn is a struggling singer, has no permanent job and his latest album hasn't been commercially successful.

''Inside Llewyn Davis'' takes us, well, inside Llewyn Davis. We see the world through his eyes. Several people around him consider him a loser; they think that he is messing his own life up. Are they right? Well, that depends on the perspective. But at the end of the day, the film does not ask us to judge Llewyn Davis but rather to spend a few moments with him and it does so successfully.

The song ''500 Miles'' is sung by two of Llewyn's friend and I thought this really reflected Llewyn. ''Not a shirt on my back/ Not a penny to my name/ Lord, I can't go back home this a-way''. Is Llewyn ashamed of himself? No. But he does look fed up with life anyway. In spite of that, however, he loves folk songs and although it might look that he has given up, but he does want to make something of himself in the world of folk music. But, nevertheless, he is frustrated. He feels alone and lost in a world where people have to race to survive. We feel for him.

Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman play important supporting roles. The cinematography is oh-so-beautiful, giving the film a very poetic aura. Oscar Isaac's performance is really very good and ultimately this great-looking, excellently-written film is really moving.

1 comment:

  1. Yes, it is a moving film and it does a great job taking us "inside " the main character. Excellent observation about the song "500 miles." It really does reflect what he's going through.

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