There are few movies that explore artistry that work. Typically, they come off as pretentious or show the darker sides of creating without exploring why people do it in the first place. But one movie that still hits hard for me, as an artist, is Inside Llewyn Davis. The 2013 Coen Brothers’ film follows Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) and his struggle to cope with the loss of his partner and the music they once made together.
To preface, one of my favorite musicians of all time is Bob Dylan. I wake up next to a giant poster I bought in college of Bob wearing his classic sunglasses with his harmonica around his neck. So that might be why I turn to Inside Llewyn Davis as a way of coping and remembering why we put our pain into art. Because throughout the film, Llewyn’s music was about storytelling and the emotions behind what he was singing more than anything else (a trait that I personally think Dylan exemplifies).
And that’s really what this movie is about. For artists, a lot of the suffering they feel goes into their work, whether it be their writing or their music or whatever medium they chose. For Llewyn, he held his pain in his voice and refused to open up to anyone around him. That’s what was so frustrating about him as a character.
He’s so talented and brilliant but he refuses to let anyone help him and he gets bogged down by his own suffering to the point where, by the end, when he finally has it figured out enough for himself and finds a way of channeling that pain into his work, he’s overshadowed by what is presumably Bob Dylan coming onto the scene.
So often, movies about artists and, specifically, musicians tend to come off as cheap and not really genuine. But with Inside Llewyn Davis, it’s just a beautifully complicated look at creating and pain and how it all ties together. Am I still angry that Oscar Isaac wasn’t nominated for an Academy Award for this movie? Yes, it’s easily one of the best Coen Brothers films and is still one of Isaac’s best performances. (But, let’s be real, he always gives us stellar performances.)
I want more movies that explore art and music in this way because it shows the downside of it all—the pain that goes into it and the struggle that many artists face—but also, I don’t think that anyone can touch the artistry and brilliance of Inside Llewyn Davis any time soon.
I leave you all with Oscar Isaac singing “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me” because it often just pops into my head and makes me cry over the beauty that is Inside Llewyn Davis. (It also helps that it is one of the greatest original soundtracks.)
(image: CBS Films)
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