The Cool Cat on the Train
Over the Holidays I went to go see the new Coen Brothers movie 'Inside Llewyn Davis". I knew before the movie started that I was going to fall in love with it. Think about it; 1960 folk rock music, Coen Brothers humor, New York City/Greenwich Village life, a wandering cat, and a cameo by John Goodman... This movie had a lot going for it. I had built up a lot of hype in my head that it lived up to. I left the theatre satisfied and I scoffed at the people leaving the theatre that openly voiced their disdain. Some thought it was too long- some thought the character wandered too much. I felt it was beautiful. The main character is physically wandering around New York City, mirroring the displacement of his soul. After loosing his long term musical companion he is struggling to find himself as a musician. He refuses to give up no matter how many times the people in his life remind him that he just isn't good enough. It really hit home for me - an artist in my early twenties trying to find my voice. Nevertheless I put it off as just another movie I loved that people had a hard time appreciating. Some time passed without me thinking of the movie and I went after the holiday break to continue my studies in Screenwriting at York.
The first monday back at school just happened to be the day that my script in progress was getting criticized by the whole class. I'm normally pretty good when it comes to criticism but that particular day was awful. After receiving a whopping amount of negative feedback I felt that as the writer I was just as without direction as the characters in my story. I was Llewyn and everyone around me was telling me to give up - there was no point in continuing to beat the dead horse. It felt hopeless. My protagonist was too passive to be a protagonist. My fellow classmates felt as if events transpired for him, he never really did anything for himself - thus he was a weak character.
The ride home after my story room session was a long one. All I could do was think of my terrible story and oddly enough how good Inside Llewyn Davis. I kept thinking - Did Llewyn Davis have any direction? Wasn't the world just against him? Isn't that what was so appealing about his character? Throughout the entire film Llewyn openly criticizes people who choose financial stability over art. He refuses paying music jobs that make him sacrifice his art. The whole film is a statement about standing up for your art and making it because you like it not because you expect others to. I was jazzed feeling as if my characters were as rich and insightful as Llewyn. I was just thinking outside the box, that's all. I asked myself, do I want to tell stories that other people enjoy or do I just want to tell stories that I enjoy? Fuck you other people, I'm writing for myself. I am just like Llewyn and so is my main character - This story means something to me and someday it will mean something to others as well.
But then I thought about it some more. Llewyn isn't really a passive character. Yes bad things happen to him but they happen to him because of the decisions he makes. Because there is always (I hate to use such a formal word ) the engine driving him. Everything he does is out of love for his own art and his refusal to give up... Fuck man, he's the prototype all right. The story sticks within the confines of what is considered 'the three act structure' but it does it in a way that says 'fuck structure'. It takes some serious writing chops to be able to get all that awesomeness inside the confines of structure.
Don't feel bad for me, I figured out my story over time... but I also figured out just how cleaver and well written Inside Llewyn Davis was. The Coen Brothers successfully thought outside the box while within the confines of a much larger box... again. If you have a love for all things coehn brothers or all this folk music than there is no way you will dislike this movie. It's got some catchy tunes and an adorable scene with an orange cat on a train. Check it out.