2013 at the Arcadia

Chicago-bound Llewyn - Pic courtesy of CBS Films

by blogSpotter

2013 was a banner year for good movies.. I was motivated to watch all these excellent films:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Dallas Buyers Club
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Saving Mr. Banks

All of these were exceptional; I plunked down the big dollars to see four of these in the theater. Such a bumper crop of excellence is a rare thing to see. My personal favorite of these is probably Nebraska – a black-and-white homage to middle America and the positive family dynamics that happen in a time of true need. But for today I watched Inside Llewyn Davis on Apple TV – it gives us the story of an aspiring folk singer in 1961.

The Coen brothers who created Llewyn are primarily known for chaotic comedies like Fargo and Raising Arizona. This movie is far from that – in fact it’s more a character study than a comedy. The laughs that come from this movie will be dry chuckles, not knee-slapping guffaws.

Llewyn Davis is a young, 20ish New Yorker from a lower middle class family. His father is in a nursing home and his sister is a working mother with little patience for a cast-about brother who sleeps on other peoples’ couches. Llewyn seems to also raise the hackles on a married female friend, Jean, who is a fellow folk singer. Jean is livid that Llewyn has impregnated her in an extramarital one-night stand. (Her character seems incapable of conceding that she had a part in it.)

Llewyn was part of a duo (a la Simon and Garfunkel) but as the movie begins his partner has just committed suicide, jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Llewyn is left alone in multiple ways, trying to restart his career as a soloist and reconcile what happened. Through the entire movie, Llewyn comes across as brooding, pensive and angry. You might even conclude that he has a chip on his shoulder and a bit of a self-destructive streak. Caution – some spoilers might follow..

A college professor acquaintance and his wife invite Llewyn to wine and dinner at their beautiful home. He flies off the handle when asked to entertain them with a folk song. “I’m a dinner guest, not the hired entertainment!” A later scene shows a prominent Chicago music producer actually giving Llewyn an audition. He offers Llewyn a job as part of a trio and recommends that he trim his beard – Llewyn huffs away from the offer, aghast that anyone has questioned his own artistic vision.

Throughout the movie Llewyn frowns or looks sad. I keep waiting for him to smile. I want him to play something jaunty on his guitar (how about “Puff the Magic Dragon”?) Instead he plays sad death dirges like “The Death of Queen Anne”. He drowns in a self-centered, self-pity that limits his possibilities. Toward the end of the movie I almost don’t care what happens to such a wounded, broken bird. The movie does end on a slightly positive note suggesting that he’s repairing his burned bridges and giving the solo career a real chance.

An orange house cat serves as a metaphor throughout this film. Without retracing the whole cat sub-plot, the cat (named Ulysses) finds his way home to the college professor’s house from across town. Llewyn’s great epiphany comes about from seeing a mere animal find his bearings against such immense odds. (That’s this viewer’s take on it anyway)..

Inside Llewyn Davis is an excellent character study but it might frustrate you if you’re looking to laugh out loud or brighten your day. I’d still recommend it for a rainy Sunday on Amazon Prime or Apple TV.

© 2014 blogSpotter