The brothers Coen have made some very good movies in their long career. Looking at their filmography there are some movies I have seen many times and which are easily some of my favorites. Despite that though I am not someone who will blindly love their movies because they have directed it. For every Fargo there is a The Ladykillers or A Serious Man. Maybe not bad movies, but ones I really was not able to enjoy or could not get into. Inside Llewyn Davis has been getting a lot of buzz the past couple of months. Although I was hoping I would also be enjoying it I somehow had a feeling this would not be a movie for me. Unfortunately it turned out I was right.
This musical drama is about Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac), a once very succesful musician who is now struggling to make enough money to live. He is constantly sleeping on couches of people he knows and grabbing every opportunity he gets to make a little money. During the movie we follow him through his struggle and the many unexpected moments he goes through.
There are a couple of issues I had with the movie. First was the look of the movie. Everything is filmed with a very soft focus and a very reduced color palette, which made the movie feel very cheap to me. The next issue I had was that there simply did not happen too much during the movie. Sure Llewyn faces some issues, but I did not care for many of them. There are some highlights though. The musical performances are good (even though I was not a fan of that music) and John Goodman‘s appearance was a lot of fun to see. Despite those points though the movie just did not go anywhere to really move me. I understand though why people love this film, it just simply wasn’t for me.
Nice review mate! I enjoyed this one but I wasn’t totally in love with it like a lot of people have been. I didn’t think the look of the movie was cheap but I do think it was very cold unwelcoming. Some great music and performances though.
Thanks Chris, I just had to brutally honest about how this movie made me feel. The performances were great, but personally the music didn’t do much for me.
Well, as you know, I’m in a different team. But I’ll put it like you did: I understand why others may not like it, but it worked for me.
I think the key is the music. I really loved it. I could have sat there in the theatre just listening to that. What else that happened – or didn’t happen – was less significant.
Yeah, we can not always agree. I was not big on the music and as that is quite a big part of the movie. He is a good singer though!
Fair enough; nicely argued. I gotta say I loved the film, check out my review if you get the chance.
I tried to make sure it was clear why I did not like the movie and people understand those reasons. Will drop by.
Nice review. I have to say I loved Inside Llewyn Davis and I’d say it’s the Coens’ best since No Country For Old Men. I thought the cinematography really helped emphasize the bleak mood of the picture. I’m very much eager to watch it again.
Thanks. You really like it that. Obviously I thought No Country was way better than this one, although these movies are so different you can not really compare them.
I’m a bit ambivalent to this one, myself. I love the Coen brothers, but this one just doesn’t grab my interest. I hope to be proven wrong, of course, when I eventually get around to watching it.
When I saw the trailer of this (and I rarely do, but the poster did not convince me) I was not one over. Shame it still did not and I am intersted to read what you thought of it Rodney.
Not a fan of Mumford & Sons I see. What about Donavan?
Good point about the look of the film.
No, not a fan of the music. Donavan I don’t know.
I’ve heard so many good things about this that it’s nice to see a counter argument. I do think Coen bros. films can divide audiences with their idiosyncrasies and by the looks of things this is no different. I’ll try to keep an open mind when seeing it.
We cannot all agree! Yeah, there are some of their movies I do not like and others I absolutely love. This was not one of them
I’m a big fan of the film but it took some time. After first seeing it I was a bit conflicted. But over time I better realized what the brothers were going for and I better appreciated it. That being said, I too can see where people may struggle getting close to the film.
When I do not like a movie my opinion usually does not change over time. Maybe in a few years I should try rewatching it and see if I still feel the same.
I expected to come here and berate you Nostra LOL
but you’ve made your points clear. I actually really liked it but chose not to review it yet as I think a second viewing is essential. Once I’ve done that, I’ll give you my thoughts.
LOL, happy I have made myself clear enough so you do not have to do that. Will check out your thoughts once I see the review in my mailbox.