Inside Llewyn Davis

Joel and Ethan Coen just love to make movies where nothing goes right. In a darkly funny way. They continue this tradition with Inside Llewyn Davis.

Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) was half of a pretty successful folk duo. Now, he's a down on his luck folk singer. His former partner jumped off the George Washington Bridge. His albums aren't selling. He may have to go back to his former career as a Merchant Marine. He may or may have not gotten a friend, Jean (Carey Mulligan) pregnant. She hates him. And he has to rely on friends to give him a place to stay.

And there's also a cat. A cat who likes to run to Llewyn. A cat who also likes to run away from Llewyn. There's also a cat who looks like the one cat but isn't. Llewyn picks it up because he thinks it's the cat. Only later does he find out it's not.

In other words, stuff happens to Llewyn Davis. He's just gonna have to get through it.

The soundtrack is one of the main draws of the film. The Coen Brothers fill the soundtrack with existing folk music. The one exception is a new number titled "Please Mr. Kennedy." The soundtrack highlights Llewyn's melancholy state of mind. Again, in a comedic way. "Hang me, oh hang me. Wouldn't mind the hangin', except for layin' in the grave so long."

Whether or not you like this film depends on you finding humor, as the Coens do, in the misfortune of others. They mitigate this fact by making some of Llewyn's misery self-inflicted. For example, the film opens with somebody beating up Llewyn. Only later does the film elaborate on the reason.

Inside Llewyn Davis is not a film for all tastes. There are plenty of enjoyable bits of dark humor. But you should look elsewhere if you want a happier comedy.