Inside Llewyn Davis: Interpretation by Ross Smirnoff

Inside Llewyn Davis directed by the Coen Brothers is about a young and talented but strained folk singer and guitar player who like all artists is on an undefined quest of artist discovery.   The story takes place in Greenwich Village, 1961 pre-Dylan.  The artist in question is Llewyn Davis who is playing solo after losing his music partner to suicide.   There’s some fine acting in this film.  The scope of the narrative takes place through the eyes of the main character, thus the title reflects the viewers perception of the entire movie through a protagonist.  I don’t think the Coen’s intend you to like this character, however they allow the viewer of the film to become slowly invested in his dilemma as we see through his eyes how every relationship is hijacked by some existential devil pulling the strings making his journey far more difficult to complete.   The film becomes a metaphor of the artistic experience, without the fame, success, and glory.   In fact, the Coen brothers constantly force their character down a road of broken, empty, and fragile delays until at one point in the film, he declares that he is quitting, and that he is “tired.”  It’s at this point of no return, it seems that the figure of Bob Dylan comes in the very end of the film playing the Gaslight for the first time while Lewyn Davis heads out the exit door to get his faced bashed in by the metaphysical representation of God, or so I interpret. While Dylan’s playing in the background with his soulful music that turned him into an artistic icon,  Llewyn Davis is on the floor in the alleyway spitting up blood from his mouth.   The irony of the story peers off the screen through Dylan’s music and the filmgoer is left contemplating all the symbolism that the Coen Brothers put in the film.  A lost box,  a lost cat, a lost soul.  Llweyn Davis is the Ulysses, as they continue to obsess about how the hero must struggle and maybe in the end still never really make it to their desired destination even though they try with so much effort to get somewhere.  Then Dylan arrives, the chosen one in artistic paradise almost without effort, like natural.  Perhaps, the directors point is you’re either "the dude" or your not and the sooner you except that and just stop trying, and instead do, your destiny will be what it is, and was always meant to be.