Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Poster thanks to ImpAwards.com
Inside Llewyn Davis is the most recent release from the esteemed Coen brother team. Joel and Ethan Coen are known for their collaborations, quirky stories, and all star casts. Oscar Isaac, a relative new comer, stars as the title character, Llewyn Davis, a struggling folk musician in the times just preceding Bob Dylan. The film also stars the likes of Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, and John Goodman. Inside Llewyn Davis was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Actor for Isaacs, and Best Writing for the Coens). Possibly it's most prestigious award was received at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, in which the Coen brothers took home the Grand Jury Prize, the second most distinguished award at the festival, under the Palme D'or. The film is about Llewyn Davis, a musician struggling to make it big.

One of the most important aspects of this film is it's soundtrack, as it is a movie about music. Below I have included my favorite song from the film:


The Auld Triangle, originally thought to be written by Dominic and Brendan Behan, is here performed by Chris Thile, Chris Eldridge, Marcus Mumford, and Justin Timberlake. This rendition of the song is in stark contrast to some of the more popular renditions, such as those performed by the Dropkick Murphys and the Dubliners, the former giving the song an angrier feel and the latter a more humorous sort of feel. Below I have included the Dubliners version of the song as a point of reference:



The film's soundtrack is certainly important to the flow of the film, as well as the story. Songs such as "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me," "Five Hundred Miles," and "Fare Thee Well" are all performed at crucial points within the story and act as explanations for the unspoken emotions that are being seen on screen and felt by the characters. "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" acts as foreshadowing to the title character, Llewyn, and "Fare The Well" is his final goodbye before the film closes. "Five Hundred Miles" explains the emptiness felt by various characters, mainly the lead, and his intimate relationship (or lack there of) with the cold Jean.

A point of interest is the possible snub the film and its creators received for this years Academy Awards. The original song "Please Mr. Kennedy" deserved a nomination in the Best Original Song category, but was instead surpassed by the likes of "Let it Go" from Frozen and "Happy" from Despicable Me 2. There were two other songs nominated, though I am unfamiliar with them or the films they come from. Nevertheless, "Please Mr. Kennedy" is such a novelty that I am entirely confident that it could have easily replaced either of the songs previously mentioned. This may be an unpopular opinion, but I feel that a film dedicated and reliant wholly on it's soundtrack, whether the songs were entirely original or covers, deserved some sort of recognition. I have included below the song "Please Mr. Kennedy" for my readers to listen to:


I highly suggest this movie on the basis that it is a good film, as well as for the purpose of enjoying a very good folk soundtrack. A+.



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