All Coen
Brothers fans in the house raise your hands!!!! And once you have done that,
check your list of movies to confirm that you have seen Inside Llewyn
Davis. A few of us (about a 500 I am
guessing) were lucky enough to see the movie at the Mumbai International Film
Festival. For the rest, PVR Director’s
Rare has been kind enough to release it after several delays – 10th
January 2014 is the day.
The Winner of
the Grand Jury Prize @ Cannes in 2013, Inside Llewyn Davis is a celebration of
all things Coen Brothers. Even if you haven’t
seen the posters or the credits or heard of the movie beforehand, the distinctive
Coen Brothers stamp is all over the movie.
The cinematography, the colour, the use of light, the screenplay and of
course the dry dialogue that flirts with humour – all trademarks of the
brilliant duo.
ILD is set in
the 60s folk music scene. An era that
existed before one Robert Zimmerman made his way into the Gaslight. It is loosely based on the life and times of
one Dave Van Ronk (1936-2002) – a folk singer who was great but failed to make
it to the really big league. Replacing
Van Ronk is the character of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) a struggling musician
who moves from one friend’s place to the other while he looks for work.
Llewyn is the
perfect character from that period. He
has little or no money. He is committed
to his music and knows that it is good but doesn’t have a certain X Factor that
will take him beyond some random gigs.
His record deal isn’t making too much money either. His relationship with his family isn’t stuff
that dreams are made of. But he is, at
the end of the day, a good human being.
Oscar Issac is
superb in bringing the character of Llewyn Davis to life – with his haggard unshowered
(for a few weeks) look and probably the same clothes over the week that is the
movie. And like any Coen Brothers movie
there are some really solid bit part characters such as Al Cody (Adam Driver)
and Roland Turner (John Goodman) who add the right seasoning to the movie.
The narration is
seamless and while slow, it will keep you glued to the screen. And if you are a fanboy like I am, you will
gush about it after like I am doing right now.
I saw a 10 am show on a Sunday morning (which is one of the most
difficult things to do) and believe me when I say that I felt exhilarated at
the end of 2 hours. I cannot guarantee
that you will love ILD like I did but I can tell you that it is brilliant
cinema. 8 on 10.
Watch the trailer
on http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi1158195225/?ref_=tt_ov_vi
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