Llewyn Davis has just come to a startling realization. The only reason why anyone even knew him was because he was apart of a two man folk group. His partner, who committed suicide, is much more of a well known musical figure than Llewyn ever was, and now Llewyn is facing a life where the art form her cherishes the most will only be able to offer him fame or heart ache. What happens when a second tier musical performer has to carve out his own identity without a partner? Can you achieve fame and wealth without selling out your principles in the end? Does selling out destroy your value as a serious artist?
“Inside Llewyn Davis” is about Llewyn’s struggles to get out from under the shadow of his former partner. He’s had his brush with fame, and now seeks to be considered a serious and respect folk singer in the wake of his partner’s suicide. But what dawns upon Llewyn is that he may never find a time where he’ll be able to stand on his own two feet and build a career that remembers Llewyn and only Llewyn. Worse yet, his career as a famous folk singer may always be out of reach. What the Coen brothers ponder is: Does that mean his pursuit is in vain? Much of “Inside Llewyn Davis” is spent on Llewyn fighting the tide of popular opinion against his singing. Many people just know him as one man in a singing duo, and then think of his singing and performing as something to be enjoyed and savored.
Llewyn takes great resentment toward a request at a dinner party for him to sing for friends. In many ways he’s a man saving up his momentum and artistic expression for that right person, or perhaps that right paycheck. This leads us in to the cross hairs of the bigger question of what Davis wants out of life? Does he really treasure folk music, or is he just waiting for a better ship to roll in allowing him to ditch his guitar without guilt? Llewyn Davis can very much be a hit in the folk music circuit but only if he’s willing to change who he is. Throughout the course of the story, he’s told to change his act, change his persona, and change his habits. But Llewyn views his apathy toward domesticity, and freeloading habits as an artistic way of life. He mocks “the man,” but depends on them for hand outs and favors.
And in the end, when he finally does meet up with a famed concert promoter, he’s given the analysis about his singing that he’s heard from literally everyone since the film begins. But he is true in his convictions that it’s the world that needs to change for him. His insistence on sticking to his guns is a source of difficulty for Llewyn. But can we really trust the judgment of a man who can’t even identify a cat correctly? In so many dimensions, but very little words, the Coens don’t just second guess Llewyn, but cause Llewyn to second guess his entire endeavor. Is his pursuit to be taken “seriously” just a hollow journey for someone perpetually just a second banana, or can he achieve his own level of self respect? “Inside Llewyn Davis” is possibly one of the most unusual and niche dramas that the Coens have ever directed. After a few years of acclaimed mainstream winners, “Inside Llewyn Davis” is a wry and conscious step in the opposite direction, and a brilliant and very thoughtful drama comedy about the artistic condition.