Inside Llewyn Davis

Joel & Ethan Coen, 2013

IMDB

4/5

The Coen Brothers could quite possibly have the most diverse filmography in movie history. Their body of work is divisive. But one undeniable fact is if you polled anyone on the street who is a true fan of film and asked them what their favorites of all time are, it's almost a certainty that there is going to be a Coen Brothers film on there somewhere in the top 20. They approach widely different topics and you are never quite sure how specific that approach is going to be.

So of course it's intriguing when you hear that they are making a movie about a struggling folk singer named Llewyn Davis. And Llewyn is certainly struggling; freezing his way through the Greenwich Village streets lacking the proper winter attire. He is a man that is stagnant, can't seem to get to that next level in his career. Can't seem to manage his relationships properly, therefore having many displeased people in his periphery. It's a dreary character study. A man sort of ahead of his time. He's working before the big folk explosion in 1961. People haven't really been exposed to Bob Dylan yet. The big question is can Llewyn even survive long enough to make it there. He of course has no clue. While the odds seem more and more insurmountable, he spends a good portion of the film even wondering why he keeps at it. Is it worth it? What's the point? It's this quest for survival that adds the heart to the story. While Llewyn isn't a largely likeable character, you are rooting for him.

But his stagnation continues to be draining on you as you watch. The universe is using him as a punching bag. He doesn't seem to even draw luck from it. So he wakes up daily, stuck in the bondage of desperation. In a sense the film resembles Groundhog Day. Like there is the possibility that if Llewyn could transcend on some level, make some attempt to personally evolve, that there would some kind of epiphany. But he doesn't do himself many favors. He doesn't treat people as well as he could. He has a lot of pride, too much pride. He refuses to work a normal job, although it's exactly the type of thing that could help him upgrade his current situation. He's all in on the music. That alone is admirable.

There's a segment in the film when Llewyn is hitchhiking. It's a segment I can't seem to get out of my head. It so resembles some kind of purgatory. The sound, the visual elements at work. Man, only the Coen Brothers could create a landscape like this in the middle of a film. The fog on the highway, the hypnotic repetition of the painted lines.

Llewyn is certainly not a feel-good film. If anything it's a feel-sorry film. But it's memorable and unique, qualities of all of the good Coen Brothers movies.

Miller's Crossing

Joel & Ethan Coen, 1990


3/5

Tom Regan (Gabriel Byrne) is a right-hand man to a crime boss. When tension mounts between his boss Leo and rival boss Johnny Caspar, he finds himself in the middle and his loyalty comes into question.

The Coen Brothers jump into the 1930's mob world in this Prohibition-era Period Piece. With elaborate set design and heavy dialogue the film is ultimately more refined than Goodfellas but had the unfortunate timing of being released the same week in 1990. History seems to have been more kind to Scorcese's piece, or at least pushed Miller's Crossing into more of a cult status (not a bad thing). And there's no Eric Clapton playing in this picture. A classical score echoes throughout the film. Lots of wood paneling graces the scene reflecting dim light by fancy green lampshades. Backroom booze consumption and gambling. Double crossing. Political relationships. Long standing Irish and Italian feuds. Egos getting in the way of business. Sudden subtle humor puts the Coen Brothers mark on it (Caspar's blowups, Caspar's fat kid, Drops Johnson's screaming). But in the end they also don't hold back on the firepower. When the Tommy guns let loose they light up the screen like fireworks, and you're left with bullet-riddled storefronts and engulfed Ford Model A's.

The primary focus of the film is on Byrne's character Tom Regan. Regan is restrained, aimless. At times he feels almost nihilistic. He talks less and listens more. He doesn't really watch his back, and never feels he needs to. He is a cool head in a crowd of hot ones. He gets himself into a lot of situations that leave you on the edge of your seat wondering how he's going to get out of them. It's guilty of dragging a bit at times, like some of their work tends to do. But in the end, it's a film that's artfully done with polished characters that make an impact.