Hello all! I’m coming to you with what will hopefully be a semi-regular column, “Reelfinder,” as we find new and interesting trailers to present to you. It’s sort of like our “Viewfinder” where we preview the film as if the trailer is the film;s single. We’ll discuss them a bit and tell you why we believe you should see the film that’s coming soon to a theatre near you!
A new Coen Bros. film has become quite the anticipated event since 2007’s No Country For Old Men revitalized them as critical and commercial darlings. We haven’t seen much from the duo since 2010’s lauded True Grit, unfortunately. Well, the three year hiatus has allowed the brothers to work slowly and craft the best possible product they could deliver. They’ve returned this upcoming winter with a film right up my alley – Inside Llewyn Davis, which tells the story of the titular folk singer as he navigates the tumultuous music scene bursting forward in NYC’s Greenwich Village during the early 1960s.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgjuJEYpOJg
One of my favorite films is the Coens’ O Brother Where Art Thou? – mostly because of the hypnotic soundtrack by T Bone Burnett driving the story of the Soggy Bottom Boys and their troubled path home. Burnett is back again, at least overseeing the musical production, and as a former member of Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue, I imagine he has a good bit of history to incorporate. Llewyn Davis is a stand-in, you see, for real-life folk guru Dave Van Ronk, who was dubbed the Mayor of MacDougal Street (in Greenwich Village) for his heavy influence on such notables as Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Phil Ochs. My hope with this soundtrack is that Burnett will do for folk music what he did in 2000 for bluegrass.
From the trailer we can discern that Inside Llewyn Davis will have a distinctly melodic feel to it, much like the music Davis intends to unleash upon the Greenwich music scene. I anticipate the soundtrack to be only one of the many highlights. It’s also great to see John Goodman, who has been a part of the last two years Best Picture winners, Argo and The Artist. A perennial Coen player, Goodman looks his best here as Davis’ reluctant manager, ready for a sharp quip in every scene. Tron star Garrett Hedlund and someone named Justin Timberlake also pop up as musical collaborators while pixie dream girl Carey Mulligan sneers and throws barbs as Davis’ pregnant ex. The caliber of actors in this film is enough to bring me to the theatre, and the music is just the cherry on top. I can’t express enough how much I am anticipating this film, I hope that after you view this trailer, you might feel the same way! Let us know what you think!