Scene and Heard: Coen Brothers
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kurtew
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kurtew
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kurtew
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kurtew
Photo Credit: Cornelia Kurtew
Photo Credit: Michael Kovac
Photo Credit: Michael Kovac
Image Courtesy of CBS Films
Image Courtesy of CBS Films
Image Courtesy of CBS Films
Image Courtesy of CBS Films
“We don’t really know them. In this world where we know all, they remain a happy mystery,” said Bob Gazzale, president and CEO of the American Film Institute, introducing Joel and Ethan Coen at the closing night screening of Inside Llewyn Davis at AFI Fest presented by Audi, held at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Thursday, November 14. “To my knowledge they have neither tweeted nor twerked. But what we do know is their work. We know ceiling fans spinning slowly in Blood Simple. We know Marge Gunderson; you betcha. We know the wood chipper. We know the Dude. We know Javier Bardem’s haircut. Indelible images, and all part of who we are. And so you see, it’s not about knowing who they are, it’s about knowing and appreciating the great gifts they’ve given us throughout the years,” he added.
“I love this movie theater,” said Ethan Coen as he prepared to introduce his new film to the AFI Fest audience. Then his brother Joel Coen took the microphone to thank audience members who worked on Inside Llewyn Davis. Joel started to read a list of names to thank attendees, then he got to production sound mixer Peter Kurland, “Peter Kurland, huh. Peter’s already seen the movie a couple of times, so I guess he’s following it. Are you really here?” When Kurland responded in the affirmative from the audience, Joel added, “You’re like a deadhead following this movie around.” And just before the film started, Joel introduced the actors, including the film’s star. “Oscar Isaac is the first and last thing you’ll see on the screen,” he said.
The film stars Isaac (Drive, W.E.), who sings, mopes, and rants through the Greenwich Village folk music scene of the ’50s and early ’60s, just prior to Bob Dylan’s arrival. Isaac’s character, Llewyn Davis is a folksinger ne’er-do-well modeled on Brooklyn-born Dave Van Ronk (who was nicknamed the Mayor of MacDougal Street). Homeless, the self-destructive singer known for his bluesy rhythms makes his way from couch to empty apartment, ostensibly trying to score steady gigs playing his singular songs.
While the film sometimes meandered listlessly, much the way Davis himself behaves, there are moments of brilliance. Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan play a folk-pop husband-and-wife team reminiscent of Peter Paul and Mary (though the Timberlake character is based on folksinger Paul Clayton). And there’s a scene late in the film with four sweater-clad Irish lads impersonating the Clancy Brothers complete with a quip about their attire that’s likely been uttered countless times by the record-buying public. The Coens and T Bone Burnett produced the soundtrack, along with Mulligan’s husband, Marcus Mumford (there’s a great unreleased studio version of Dylan’s “Farewell” and Timberlake and Mulligan sing a decent “Five Hundred Miles”). But alas, the movie only contains two riffs of Van Ronk’s version of “Cocaine,” a traditional song famously performed by the Reverend Gary Davis, and the tune is left off the soundtrack. That song highlights Van Ronk’s rough voice and has enough grit for a Coen brothers movie.
By Elizabeth Varnell
Pictured: Ethan Coen & Joel Coen
Photo by Cornelia Kurtew
