In one comedic scene, Davis records a song in a studio with his friend Jim and Al Cody. The Coens establish Llewyn’s pride in his actions throughout the film’s first act and in several conversations with Jean, then use it as motivation for Llewyn to turn down the one offer that he gets that could have bettered his circumstances.ĭavis’ lack of strategic planning leads to other major long-term missteps in exchange for short-term gain, too. Llewyn’s pride causes him turn his nose up at any music that feels frivolous or “popular,” and makes him reject an offer to perform under contract as part of a touring group instead of as a solo artist. “I’m sad? You’re the one who’s not getting anywhere,” she retorts. He sarcastically replies: “You mean like, flying cars? Hotels on the moon? Tang?” He then calls her careerist, square, and sad for using music as a way to get a home in the suburbs to raise kids, instead of making music for the sake of art. “Do you ever think about the future at all?” she spits at him. Jean and Llewyn sit opposite one another at a table at the Caffè Reggio. Others, however, are his own fault - and those character flaws are called out by Jean, his peer and occasional fling and combatant all-in-one, in an important scene. Some are tragic, and out of his control, like the suicide of his former recording partner. There are many reasons for his lack of professional success, of course - and the Coen Brothers go to lengths throughout their story to round out his character by exploring them all. He’s talented, but he doesn’t connect with his audiences in the way that star players do. Llewyn Davis himself seems to lack that mysterious, elusive “it” factor that artists need to succeed. The settings, time of year, weather, and aesthetics all work in harmony to create a somber tone. At times, there is a glossy look to many of the images, as if they were sad scenes from a memory. Walls are almost never brightly illuminated. Lighting falls off of characters dramatically throughout the film, shrouding faces half in darkness. When Davis arrives at Cody’s apartment, the two of them comedically shuffle in the hall, backs against opposing walls, so that Davis can get into the apartment carrying a box of his own records that no one will buy, and Cody can leave. Davis meets fellow musician Al Cody at a recording session, and asks if he has an apartment he can crash in for the night. Many of those couches are in apartments, too, that are far from comfortable several are located at the ends of corridors too small for two humans and a box to comfortably fit through side-by-side. The fact that he needs to bum around from unreliable friend’s couch to stranger’s couch just to sleep inside at night becomes even more of a dramatic problem because of the cold and snow. A snowstorm temporarily blinds his view at night on the drive back home. The Coens linger on a close-up of Davis’ snow-dampened sock while he loiters in a café in Chicago. The plot of the film takes place during one week in the winter - that time of year when city streets are covered in disgusting slush, and you can see your breath in front of you. Llewyn Davis is down on his luck, and he just can’t catch a break. In between these musical numbers, we get glimpses into Davis’ personal life as he bums his way from apartment to apartment all over New York City, and in public spaces and cars to and from Chicago.Ī sense of melancholy develops as we realize that, though Llewyn Davis has not yet been put in a position where he could be hung, he’s been laying in the proverbial grave for a long, long time. Throughout Inside Llewyn Davis, Davis, played by Oscar Isaac, and others sing and play their way through numerous folk songs. The audience doesn’t dislike him, but they’re not exactly dancing. The Coens cut away to an insert shot of someone tapping the ash of their cigarette into a tabletop tray before cutting back to Davis. I wouldn’t mind the hangin’ - but the layin’ in the grave so long, poor boy.”Īfter a beat focused solely on Davis, the Coens cut away to the crowd watching him. The Coen Brothers linger on a close-up of that forlorn face as he begins to sing: “Hang me, oh hang me… I’ll be dead and gone. The year is 1961, the club is in its infancy supporting folk music acts, and a bright light shines down on Davis and his guitar from above, illuminating half his face while the other half falls into darkness. Llewyn Davis sits on a wooden chair in the middle of the intimate, otherwise empty stage of The Gaslight Café on New York’s MacDougal Street. “If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it’s a folk song.”
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