Hallelujah, it seems I started enjoying movies again, after a period of not really caring for them anymore. Honestly, everywhere I looked there were explosions and special effects, people flying or jumping from the tops of the buildings, it was all so immature and predictable that I started to wonder whatever happened to good, quality movies. Not that I think its always necessary to search for something deep or life-affirming (good old fashioned fun is always welcome) but I simply didn't know where to find something that was not about super-heroes, wizards, dragons or another police detective solving the murder case (with a lot of brutality , usually towards women). However, recently I had slowly started to get some recommendations and also followed my own curiosity, voilà I'm back on the track.
British SF drama "Ex Machina" led me here because of charismatic actor Oscar Isaac who was quite unforgettable, so I decided to check out what else he did. It turned out he was not a newcomer, but had already been awarded for his work in this movie directed by Cohen brothers. "Inside Llewyn Davis"is re-creation of New York's Greewich Village music scene in early 1960s but not as seen trough just some any nostalgic, rose-tinted glasses - where others might have chosen to present it as a sunny beehive full of pot, enthusiasm and brotherhood, we see it here as a struggle between young musicians and industry that mercilessly exploits them. "I don't see any money here" says famous producer (F. Murray Abraham) after one heartbreaking audition and just like folk club's owner Max Casella, he doesn't care for music or the facts that musicians are obviously hungry and wet, money talks and folk music might just be the next trend. I happened to like the atmosphere shown here: cold, windy and rainy streets where the snow beats upon starving musicians, underground and coffee bars as the places to warm up, hunt for a friends with couch (or floor) to spend the night... it all feels very realistic and possible, very far removed from idealistic vision of love & peace, camaraderie and togetherness. This is a struggle and constant compromise between art and commercialism (see hilarious studio recording of novelty song that is obviously prostitution but brings some money in).
Main character is Oscar Isaac and he is brave enough to be unlikable. That he might be great talent is almost besides the point, he refuses to be nice to people, insults them and lash out of frustration when hosts expect him to sing after dinner. Time and time again we quietly root for him, though odds are really against him and at the very end, on the same night when he is supposed to finally get a break, we get a glimpse of another performer, a certain guy from Minnesota and this is when we understand Isaac might be just another hopeful who perhaps never made it. For every successful star, there were thousands who slipped in oblivion or simply gave up the fight with the windmills. The rest of the cast is mostly used as cameo roles (excellent John Goodman, unexpected Justin Timberlake and sweetly green Stark Sands) and there are lot of people who find inclusion of the cat as something symbolical, though I am a bit wary of searching for deep meanings since the movie is quite heavy already.
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