Inside Llewyn Davis
2013 · Directed by Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Original language: English
- drama
- music
The story
In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future.
What it’s like
Cold, desaturated winter light fills the Greenwich Village frames: grey slush on sidewalks, dim cafés lit by sickly tungsten, the warm amber of a folk club's stage glowing against damp brick. The Coens shoot in long, patient takes with the camera often pulled back to hold a whole room, so a lonely man with a guitar becomes one small figure in a wide, hushed composition. The soundtrack is the warmest thing in the film: unaccompanied and live-feeling folk harmonies, close-miked and unhurried, set against near silence in subway tunnels and empty apartments. The vibe is wintry melancholy with a dry, rueful humour that surfaces at odd moments, a sad, wry comedy of stubborn artistry and small humiliations. Its pace is slow and deliberate, with long stretches of waiting and travel, and its emotional register stays cool and quietly bleak, following a prickly, self-sabotaging musician who keeps failing to connect with the people around him. It contains moderate strong language and some brief harsh moments, with an overdose and a sudden, unsettling violent beat, but no sustained gore. Best suited to a grey, rainy afternoon or a late night alone, for viewers who like melancholic character studies, folk music, and bittersweet, unshowy endings.
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