Movie Rewinds: Inside Llewyn Davis

By Nadia Ranaputri

Source: IndieWire
 First of all, I'm starting a segment called Movie Rewinds, where I review movies that came out a couple of years ago. It can be modern or old movies.

You’ve heard of folk music, haven’t you? I don’t know much about folk music, but I grew quite fond of this type of genre after watching this movie. Not only that, this was the movie that introduced me to the enigmatic Oscar Isaac, who plays the titular role of Llewyn Davis himself.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a story about Llewyn Davis, a fellow folk singer who hasn’t got any success in the music industry. After cutting ties with his singing partner, Llewyn embarks on a journey to find success, while discovering constant difficulties in doing so. 

Source: The Athena Cinema
It’s a simple premise, but the movie delivers. For most people, this was the breakthrough performance for Oscar Isaac. He’s been in several movies before this, but Llewyn Davis is the role he’s most known for. Playing Llewyn Davis isn’t easy. Davis is a conflicted character that goes from someone that doesn’t give a damn to someone who actually gives a damn (mostly for a certain cat that’s been in most of the movie’s marketing). The rest of the cast also gave impressive performances; with each character having their own unique interpretation (I liked Carrey Mulligan’s character the most, despite her frequently using the s-word and the f-word).

I would like to point out something else impressive other than the cast, which is the cinematography. I loved the coloring that they use in the movie. It sets a moody kind of tone.


Source: dreamsandvisions.squarespace.com
And of course, one could not forget about the folk music. I loved the music because it sets some playful elements to the already moody tone. Personally, my favorite piece was “Fare Thee Well”, played somewhere in the beginning as we see segments of who Llewyn Davis is and does as a character.

Overall, this movie was very enjoyable. I liked the tone of it, and the pacing was good. The folk music sets up playful elements and the actors (especially Oscar Isaac) had great performances.

It’s not a movie for everybody. For some, it could be a slow burn (you think this is slow burn? I suggest you watch Oscar’s other movie, A Most Violent Year) and some people would feel a little uncomfortable with the tone of the movie. For me, however, Inside Llewyn Davis was a unique movie with a simple premise that is delivered and handled very well.

Stars: 4.5/5

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