Cinema Society

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

Average
Rating

3.2

Monday, December 16, 2013, ArcLight La Jolla

MONDAY, DECEMBER 16

On Screen: 4:00pm or 7:30pm (You Pick!)

ArcLight La Jolla (Auditoriums 4 & 5)

Cinema Chat and Introduction begins 15 minutes prior to screenings

Discussion follows screenings

Winner, Grand Prize of the Jury, Cannes Film Festival

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS follows a week in the life of a young folk singer as he navigates the Greenwich Village folk scene of 1961.

LLEWYN DAVIS (OSCAR ISAAC) is at a crossroads. Guitar in tow, huddled against the unforgiving New York winter, he is struggling to make it as a musician against seemingly insurmountable obstacles—some of them of his own making. Living at the mercy of both friends and strangers, scaring up what work he can find, Llewyn’s misadventures take him from the baskethouses of the Village to an empty Chicago club—on an odyssey to audition for a music mogul—and back again.

Brimming with music performed by Isaac, Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan (as Llewyn’s married Village friends), as well as Marcus Mumford and Punch Brothers, INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS—in the tradition of O Brother, Where Art Thou?—is infused with the transportive sound of another time and place. An epic on an intimate scale, it represents the Coen Brothers’ fourth collaboration with multiple-Grammy® and Academy Award®-winning music producer T Bone Burnett. Marcus Mumford is associate music producer. Running Time: 105 Minutes. Rated R for language including some sexual references.

PLEASE NOTE: For this presentation, we are starting the first show 30 minutes earlier than normal—4:00pm on screen (3:45pm introduction).

ALSO PLEASE NOTE: This event takes place on a Monday.

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17-Dec-13: JF - Rating: 3

Gorgeous cinematography and a great lead performance, but I just hated the guy so much that I didn't give a hoot about anything that happened to him. At the beginning I felt bad that he was sucked punched, at the end I relished it.

Too many of the other roles were caricatures, which diluted them for me.

And his music was a draggggg. I don't care about how timeless and how pure he condescendingly thought it was, it's all just such a downer. Dylan was fresh and relevant since he sang about the current state of events, not some long dead queen or shipwreck.

17-Dec-13: Mroe - Rating: 4

Well this was certainly a “Coen Brothers movie”. I certainly finished the film going “huh?” but at the same time I liked having discussions about what others interpretations were on the various signs/symbolism. This was such a “period piece” that maybe those that lived & experienced this particular time in history will be drawn to viewing the film just to re-experience “the good ‘ol days”. I would have difficulty recommending this film to just anybody but for those that I know enjoy the Coen’s work and like a “bit of a challenge”, this will suit them just fine.

17-Dec-13: Paul - Rating: 4

The audience reactions to this movie are as interesting as the movie itself. I didn't dislike the title character as much as others did. He struck me as probably not an untypical struggling artist of the time, pursuing a craft that provides no steady income and no stability. Yes, he was self absorbed, depressed, bitter and hateful at times. However, he also carried a cat around for days so as to not let down a patron. He didn't shirk his responsibility (for what it was worth) when confronted with the pregnancy (that the woman inexplicitly took no responsibility for)! He also took matters into his own hands when his so called manager showed he could care less, making his way to Chicago looking for a break. The movie itself was Coen brothers through and through with characters whose meaning/significance we can only guess at.

As an aside, I really believe that our viewing experience is influenced when a subjective view of the movie is hammered into us before we see it. It is like hearing over and over how great a movie is before you see it -- it seldom lives up to the hype. Andy, I like it when you alert us to aspects of the movie that what we should pay attention to but would prefer less information regarding the overall viewing experience before we watch it.

17-Dec-13: jh - Rating: 4

So much to like: the poignant story of failed ambition; the period piece; Goodman, Abraham, and of course Isaac; the music; the humor; and for me rooting for an underdog. And there was so much not to like: Llewyn’s petulance; Mulligan’s character; what happened to Akron?; and the failed ambition. Still, the Coen brothers can make any story watchable. And there was that one scene that said it all, when kingmaker Grossman evaluates Davis’ talent, “I don’t see any money in it.” Ouch.

17-Dec-13: SiouxMac - Rating: 2

Why oh why is this ending up on so many "Best of 2013" lists? I can't say it was poorly made, or acted, and the singing was decent enough, but man, it was alternately boring or depressing. I can take depressing from time to time and still come away "entertained," but this was just bad. I have to skip one of the movies this week, and I'm already wishing I had chosen to skip this one.

17-Dec-13: annonymous - Rating: 1

Ugh. Did not like it at all. Well, maybe Issac's (Llewyn Davis's) voice. Mean people, awful characters. You warned it was a downer and it was. Sigh.

17-Dec-13: Margaret Downing - Rating: 5

I loved everything about this movie: the story, the casting, the acting, the cinematography, the music... Llewyn Davis was a self-involved creep to be sure, which is exactly why he found himself sleeping on people's couches every night.

16-Dec-13: Jim - Rating: 3

Wow, Andy, what a movie. I am finding the residue crushingly depressing. I think it was well done, strange, with a lot of strange and hostile characters. Maybe true to life, maybe not. The first (and last) song set the stage, but it was a little long for my tastes.

Ending with Dylan was a stroke of genius, made llewyn even more pathetic. A tortured artist that was his own worst enemy.

Powerful, but I'm still reeling from it.

Certainly not uplifting, I do not feel I've witnessed the growth of a human. I do feel like I need a shower though.

Possibly the presence of greatness, but it was not fun, at all. Some of it was even predictable.