I’ve had a long standing fascination for the directors, Joel & Ethan Coen. Ever since Fargo in 1996 their writing and directing has always interested me. Their characters are full of depth and always have a real sense of history and life in them. The stories they tell are often quirky and captivating and their 4 Oscars are a testament to their critical acclaim.
I was really excited to attend the screening of their new movie, Inside Llewyn Davis featuring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and John Goodman. The film surrounds a folk singer that struggles to get his break as a solo artist. Isaac’s performance in both acting and singing are fantastic. The film has been described as a love letter to folk music, however, I’m not a fan of folk music and it wasn’t long before I found myself looking for the X Factor red buzzer. The film is very well photographed but the story just doesn’t go anywhere and has no real point of conclusion. I actually felt like I was given a window into a world, which I really didn’t care too much about and left me a little depressed that no matter how good your talent and potential, life will knock you down. Not a happy tale or one that ends with any satisfaction. The irony is that John Goodman’s talent is wasted on a character that brought nothing to the story and is easily forgotten which is a shame as his role ended as it was getting interesting. I’ll always have a soft spot for Carey Mulligan, ever since she stared in the fantastic Doctor Who episode ‘Blink.’ Her role was mostly abusive, cute and wasted once again.
However, finally meeting her was a dream come true.
As you can tell, I wasn’t impressed with the movie, which left so much unresolved and had no real point. The Coen Brothers reputation for making great and stunning films would allow them to get funding and make a deep and meaningful film about reading the telephone directory. However, if they get Carey Mulligan to read it, I’d probably watch that too.
M
