Mischa Burton

The first purely American entry in the 2013 Cannes Film Festival competition (opening nighter The Great Gatsby was Out of Competition) , Joel Coen and Ethan Coen’s terrific Inside Llewyn Davis had its first press screening Saturday night to strong response and big buzz on the very rainy Croisette. This tale of a talented folk singer unable to balance art and commerce, and  who never quite hits the big time in the late 50′s/early 60′s emerging Folk scene, is pure Coen Brothers with a winning mixture of brilliantly observed comedy and darker moments that give it an edge most reminiscent of Coen movies like Barton Fink which won the Palme d’Or  on their first try at Cannes in 1991. Joel Coen also took the Director award that year and again for The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) among the seven previous times they have been in the Cannes competition. 1994′s The Hudsucker Proxy, 1996′s Fargo,    2000′s  O Brother Where Art Thou, 2004′s The Ladykillers and 2007′s  No Country For Old Men  represent their other numerous chances to reap a second Palme d’Or since Barton Fink  but none of them did the trick.  Judging from initial reaction , at least among the press, Inside Llewyn Davis probably makes them an early front-runner for that second Palme. We say early since the film doesn’t have its official black tie ... Read More »

Long hours on the road, sleeping on sofas, eating very little, playing shows for little money; it's a wonder why anyone struggles to make it as a musician. But for Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) there really isn't any other option to playing music. "...And what, just exist?" he counters, when his sister suggests he stops couch surfing, borrowing money and barely getting by, and re-enter the Merchant Marine. While Llewyn can't quite put into words the passion that sustains an existence perpetually on the fringes, hustling for the next dollar, it's that weary energy that drives the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis."  It's another excellent study from the filmmakers of an ordinary man caught in a tailspin. But unlike the Dude who abides, Larry Gopnik, who endures one cruel twist of fate after another or Barton Fink, who's in over his head, Llewyn is fighting against his own talent. He's very good -- but perhaps doesn't have that enigmatic extra ingredient to push him out of his...