Yes, No, Maybe So: "Inside Llewyn Davis"
Thursday, January 24, 2013 at 6:22PM Hello, lovelies: Beau here, searching for distractions from the onslaught of crap coming our way in the next few months, and the fact that I still haven't seen Before Midnight. (insert vicious, hyperbolic rant here.) Luckily for me, the trailer for the new Coen Bros. is just the ticket.
YES:
Carey? Carey... are you in there?
- Coen Brothers. Duh.
- Carey Mulligan. Duh.
- The folk music scene in New York underscored by Bob Dylan, easily one of if not my very favorite musical artist of all time? Duh.
ASSHOLE!
- There's something completely delicious about seeing Mulligan seething, and relishing the opportunity to do so. I grinned from ear to ear.
NO: I'm sorry, but I will not jump on this Justin Timberlake bandwagon. I just don't get it. He was serviceable in The Social Network, but when Aaron Sorkin isn't going on about Bigfoot, his material elevates the performance(s) of everyone and everything involved with the project. If Sean Parker is meant to be this flood of enthusiasm, energy and effusive patronage, why isn't there more of a sense of his serpentine deception?
As you can tell, I still haven't forgiven him for Black Snake Moan...
RICCI! SAMMY! ...NO ONE IMPORTANT!
In any case, I'm not impressed by his filmography thus far, and I'm just grateful that his participation will be offset with the adorable Garrett Hedlund who has, incidentally, already treaded this territory before, albeit in a fairly unremarkable film...
Maybe So:
...which is still playing in theatres. Seriously, what's up with the influx of films about this subject matter all of a sudden? (Howl, the aforementioned On the Road, the upcoming Sundance feature Kill Your Darlings, which was recently picked up by Sony Pictures Classics, and now this?) Granted, the film only claims to be loosely based on the memoir, The Mayor of MacDougal Street by Dave Van Ronk, so it has more artistic license with the atmosphere and the zeitgeist of New York in the 1960's than the others, but it is peculiar that we should be inundated with so many perspectives of such a tumultuous and, sad to say, bygone era.
Is there something we're searching for, culturally, that filmmakers think they may find here? Hard to say. If so, I don't want anyone other than the Coens taking it on.
I am a RESOUNDING YES. What about you?
Reader Comments (34)
(sigh) There it goes. There goes ANY semblance that Katie Jarvis had actual career prospects. I freely admit I did not care a lick for Mulligan's physically and verbally stiff work in An Education, but I at least appreciated her Drive work and I haven't even seen Shame yet. But, yeah. If there's any big parts for Jarvis' "type" (young angry British female) being offered by the British film industry, you can bet that, yeah, Mulligan will be taking the few that come up. Why do I even bleeping bother?
Still, even if it probably kills a hope I've been holding for a few years, (sigh) I'm a Yes. An even bigger yes than you, because I far from hate Justin Timberlake as an actor. He's the big reason to at least watch Southland Tales, he's the Best in Show of (yes, I saw it) The Love Guru and he's at least pretty good in The Social Network. No way I'm NOT seeing this.
Justin Timberlake. ZZZZZZZZ.
Major yes here. Timberlake looks like he'll be a supporting role- probably fairly minor. I'll wager he'll have less screentime than that cat, which isn't a bad thing because I like cats more than Justin Timberlake.
Beau, Craig Brewer is his cousin.
Justin Timberlake is a TERRIBLE actor. He's very likeable as a celebrity, but as an actor I hate him.
Mixed. Looks all right, but a little sentimental and cliched.
Good for Craig Brewer. Maybe he can cast him in his home movies and out of shit I want to see.
Omg. I couldn't even watch the whole trailer. Zzz
Maybe John Goodman's Oscar nomination?? after being in a bunch of Oscar contenders the past few years.
Yes for the cat.
Maybe not so for the Cinematography,which is freeeezing...
Coen Bros - yes
John Goodman - yes (he's turning out to be the-Ward-Bond-to-John Ford for the Coens, with a more amusing dark side)
soundtrack - yes
the cat - yes
and it's got Salieri too!
I'm in.
I'm gonna say yes for Carey Mulligan alone. I miss seeing her at the movies.
And holy crap! STARK SANDS is in this!
I'm a Yes but I hope there won't be scenes about how smooth that guy's musical talent is. That bit where it takes him so long to start playing totally triggerred my OCD.
i watched the trailer with a ginger cat asleep on my lap so maybe i'm biased but YES!
I'm not generally on board with Carey Mulligan but her straightforward, stony hatred in this has toughened up her voice and I am enjoying it.
YES - Oscar Isaac in a leading role. Had a close eye on him ever since he single handedly made Robin Hood not completely terrible to watch.
I wasn't on board for this before the trailer, mainly because the Coens haven't been wowing me lately. That being said, this looks incredible. Carey Mulligan is the reason I watch movies! She is amazing and is carving out such a fantastic filmography for herself. She bares no resemblance to any of the characters she's played before this, and she fits into the Coen's world so effortlessly.
Ric: Fits better with this film than on (gag me) Man of Steel. Seriously, why are people getting hyper jazzed for a studio release to REPEAT THE MISTAKES THEY MADE LAST TIME.
OMG! are you crazy? Oscar Isaac - YES!
Mister Isaac is a powerful actor and I've been waiting for this film to come out
also, the strong Drive duo reunites :) Oscar + Carey = <3
I wonder why the Coens didn't use Roger Deakins again after working with him for like 20 years straight?
You're just biased as usual, Nat. You hate Timberlake because he's mainstream. He was great in The Social Network and nobody would've batted an eye had he received a nomination for it. He was also best in show in Alpha Dog and Black Snake Moan (yep, that one too). But hey, considering your unreasonable love for a hit-and-miss actress like Kidman, I should know never to take your opinions of actors seriously.
Your hatred for Chloe Moretz is another that makes zero sense.
p.s. Sean Parker wasn't supposed to be a serpentine villian, you twat. He was a weasel. And Timberlake played that perfectly.
tr -- i did not write this article.and I don't dislike timberlake as much as Beau though i do think he's a relatively mediocre actor. Not bad at all but taking up a lot of space for the size of his gift if that makes sense.
i thought he was good in SOCIAL NETWORk though i wish there'd been a bit more subtexrt.
Edwin: It's not like Richard Deakins to Bruno Debonnell is at all a downgrade. More a lateral movement, and it almost looks like it's worked for them here.
Nat, I feel there should be some more prominent indicator when an article is written by Beau. I know you usually state so in the beginning, but it somehow doesn't register. I always get disoriented when I read the comments and realize that it's not actually your writing. I'm sure it throws off other people too. Just a suggestion.
Beau, I just watched Burn After Viewing, er, Reading, and OMG, what a POS! There were some nice performances, but mostly, what a mess. Even the usually sturdy McDormand was strained and stranded. The worst Coens Bros. film I've ever seen. Yikes. I was wondering what you thought of this?
tr, dial it down, bro. Nathan doesn't need to put up with your crap.
Roger Deakins was shooting Skyfall when this film began preproduction.
brookesboy: Worst? Well, I guess you haven't seen The Ladykillers.
The Ladykillers is a very funny picture.
LOL. Hi Volvagia, I heard that's a big steaming pile of youknowwhat. I'll move that further down my Netflix queue. haha
squasher -- i don't know what else to do. Beau says it's him in the very first sentence. Reading comprehension people ;:)
@tr: The script has Parker, in his very first scene in the film, exclaiming that 'There's a snake in here!'
...you think there's any irony that Sorkin chose that particular word? Think about it.
And by the way, next time you choose to comment on a post by myself or anyone here on the site, do so with a modicum of dignity and respect. You'll go further in the world when you don't label people 'twats' with whom you vehemently disagree.
@brookesboy: Personally? I hated Burn After Reading. Conversely, I've loved everything else I've seen of theirs. (Though I watched Lebowski long after the hype machine had taken it through the ringer, and I've never seen The Ladykillers.)
Here's a tip that helped me, going into The Ladykillers long after I'd heard next to nothing good about it: Watch it as a live-action cartoon.