Rarely do I rewatch a film. But 7 years later, stumbling upon Inside Llewyn Davis’ beautiful folk music imbued a nostalgic feeling that had me revisiting a personally haunting cinematic experience. These are the same rustic tunes that enchant the day-to-day melancholia of downtrodden folk singer Llewyn Davis as he struggles to deal with bereavement, failure and everything in between.
Llewyn Davis just might be my cinematic spirit animal (one glance at me and him and you’ll see the physical similarities, let alone the intrinsic ones). To me, this film’s as deeply relatable as it is complex to decipher. That is, until the name of the peripatetic cat accompanying the nomadic Llewyn is revealed – Ulysses.
Ulysses is a Latin variant of Odysseus – the Greek hero of Homer’s literary epic, The Odyssey. Ulysses is also the name of James Joyce’s seminal post-modern novel that’s deemed a “modern parallel” to The Odyssey. Joyce’s protagonist Leopold and his day-in-the-life tale, however, is seen as a mocking reflection of Odysseus’ grandiose seafaring voyages.
These are the same rustic tunes that enchant the day-to-day melancholia of downtrodden folk singer Llewyn Davis as he struggles to deal with bereavement, failure and everything in between.
Throughout the film, the cat scurries off to its own “adventures” offscreen as Llewyn remains stuck with his present difficulties. Llewyn’s (Leopold) inhibited suffering is a mocking reflection of the cat’s uninhibited freedom (Odysseus).
A mocking reflection. I guess that’s it, right? Life’s just a mocking reflection of our aspirations for it.
Not all stories end with a light at the of the tunnel. Sometimes it ends beaten and bruised in a murky alleyway covered in blood and dirt, like Llewyn by the film’s end. Depression and dark times never truly disappear, even when you’ve finally hit that glimmer of respite. All you can do, is what Llewyn does – bid your misery a knowing au revoir as you brace for impending misfortunes returning around the bend.
A sad truth, but oddly comforting once illuminated.
Titan Passions 