Almost a Review: Inside Llewyn Davis
Dec. 19th, 2013 12:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mishalakBeing primarily a fan of fantasy (and some science fiction) it might be surprising that I tend to like the Coen Brothers' films. I have seen nine films made by the brothers and enjoyed six of those, but other than The Hudsucker Proxy none of their films have explicit magic or futuristic speculation in them. Though O Brother, Where Art Thou? and The Big Libowski have a sort of magical surrealism where it is arguable that magic is happening or at least that part of the movies obey the rules of dreaming.
Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the three films that I did not like. It was a good and well made film that conveyed what it was trying to convey (I think), but I was terribly bored for almost all the film. I would have been looking at my phone to see when it would end had I not turned it off out of politeness to other viewers. The titular character is not only a bad person (as the vast majority of Coen type characters are), but also unlikeable. He does not have that spark of charm that made me love watching Ulysses Everett McGill lie, steal, and fast talk his way across a sepia tone state of Mississippi.
On the other hand, though at times, either Llewyn Davis or his acquaintances say some very funny things he takes himself so damn seriously without being humorously ridiculous. Who would this movie be for, then? Well. Someone who likes very introspective movies showing the small tragedy of loving an art and not being quite good enough to make a living from that. Bitterness and ashes are his lot and he makes it more his lot as he is unpleasant to everyone around him due to his unjustified arrogance. It is beautiful. If this movie had been in service to characters or a story I was interested in this could have been one of my favorite movies. Their visual poetry and humor are terribly amazing as they capture the feeling of winter. Always short of money, always making bad decisions, always burning bridges even while he stands upon them.
Inside Llewyn Davis is one of the three films that I did not like. It was a good and well made film that conveyed what it was trying to convey (I think), but I was terribly bored for almost all the film. I would have been looking at my phone to see when it would end had I not turned it off out of politeness to other viewers. The titular character is not only a bad person (as the vast majority of Coen type characters are), but also unlikeable. He does not have that spark of charm that made me love watching Ulysses Everett McGill lie, steal, and fast talk his way across a sepia tone state of Mississippi.
On the other hand, though at times, either Llewyn Davis or his acquaintances say some very funny things he takes himself so damn seriously without being humorously ridiculous. Who would this movie be for, then? Well. Someone who likes very introspective movies showing the small tragedy of loving an art and not being quite good enough to make a living from that. Bitterness and ashes are his lot and he makes it more his lot as he is unpleasant to everyone around him due to his unjustified arrogance. It is beautiful. If this movie had been in service to characters or a story I was interested in this could have been one of my favorite movies. Their visual poetry and humor are terribly amazing as they capture the feeling of winter. Always short of money, always making bad decisions, always burning bridges even while he stands upon them.