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| Poster by Ignacio RC |
This film is not one of redemption or hope, though those things are there. It's a story of struggling and survival. But just surviving is not what Llewyn Davis is interested in. When stopping by his sister's place - in her decidedly non-Bohemian little suburb home, she suggests he quit music, which he seems to be failing at, and go back to being a sailor, like their father. "And what, just exist?" he asks. And so he tells us, music is what gives life its flavor, like the starving poet who doesn't take a real job so that he can experience suffering, thereby enriching his poetry, but always hoping for a hit to make it big.
And music is where the flavor of Inside Llewyn Davis lies. It's what keeps you watching and hoping for a main character that is kind of a jerk to everyone around him and knows it. The songs here, performed by Isaac, Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons (singing the part of the deceased partner, Mike), Justin Timberlake, and a host of others, all overseen by the legendary T Bone Burnett, are, of course, the heart of the movie. The famous Gaslight Cafe figures prominently, with its smoking patrons listening to everything from young buskers with guitars to grandmothers from Oklahoma with their autoharps. And when Llewyn Davis is playing songs, that's when you see his heart right out there. Great music can make life bearable where otherwise it seems impossible to endure.
And that partly explains Llewyn's bad mood: his music is who he is, and it is rejected, at least at the level of being able to provide for himself. The world doesn't seem to have a place for him in music besides a loaned couch for a couple of days. He and his partner had a record which didn't sell. Llewyn has his own solo record, which hasn't sold. He meets another hopeful young folk singer, Al Cody (played by Adam Driver) at a recording session. While crashing on Cody's couch, Llewyn goes to stuff his unbought records under the end table, only to find a similar box with dozens of copies of Cody's own unsold solo album. He sees his future and his past. Llewyn writes it off as "careerist" when a pair of friends, another musician (Justin Timberlake) and his wife (Carey Mulligan) aspire to use music to settle down with a home and a family. Llewyn Davis, you see, is a pure artist. All the way down to living in the gutter.
And that brings us to his personal life and the damage he's caused. He's got a regular relationship with a doctor that will perform abortions, including one for his friend's girl. He may have a kid in Akron, Ohio, and his relationship with his dad is... strained. Llewyn doesn't really connect with others accept through his music, and even when he considers giving that up, he can't find a way out.
And then there's the cat(s). The cat is like a cipher for the film. Is it his lost partner? Himself, always wanting to get out, even from a comfortable situation? Lost, mistaken, and left for dead? Does he have 9 lives? Is it a living burden that he can't just seem to let go of? His eventual redemption? There is a long It could stand for a lot of things but may not stand for any of them.
Currently available on Amazon Prime. Rated R for language. Watched on VidAngel to edit language.
