Inside Llewyn Davis

[caley]

I think there's enough worthwhile discussion possible to give this film its own thread, but I also have a long-winded spoiler-y theory about the ending that I didn't want to jam up the movie talk thread with here so I thought, let's give this terrific film its own thread!

 

So, let's talk 'Llewyn Davis'!

[caley]

Okay, so my big theory involves the ending

 

SPOILERS AHOY!

 

The last stretch of the movie features a near repeat of the opening of the movie, Llewyn waking up on the Gorfeins' couch, getting up and leaving the house, but stopping the cat from going out, so we know it's not one of those movies that runs out of chronological order, because the cat doesn't escape.  So, following forward and ending up with Davis beaten in the alley (again), we surmise that it's simply the next day because he was heckling the folk singer the previous day before ending up at the Gorfeins'.  

 

BUT, there are two clues that it's not the next day.  First off, the movie opens by specifically telling us that it's 1961.  But when Davis is walking past the movie theater, he sees a poster that advertises 'The Incredible Journey', but 'The Incredible Journey' was not released until 1963.  Secondly, after Davis plays his song and exits into the alley to get beaten up, Bob Dylan is singing 'Farwell'.  But 'Farewell', also, was not written until January 1963.  So, by these clues, I'm going on the theory that makes the film even sadder, is that Davis is still bumming around, no place to live, no success, still drunkenly heckling other singers and getting beaten up in alleys, for over years now.  Now where exactly the film takes that jump, I couldn't tell you.  The Chicago trip, indeed, feels like it takes a long time and when he gets back and talks to Jean and asks how the abortion went, Jean says "I'm doing it on Saturday!" and Davis says he forgot, he'd been on a trip that felt like a long time, but was actually only a couple days.  But, then again, given Davis' nature of cyclical destructive behaviour, this could be ANOTHER abortion.  So, maybe the Chicago trip actually encapsulates a longer period, or maybe not.  It is the Coen Brothers, after all.

[Randy]

you knew that in a movie about folk music, the Coens had to

 

find a way to jam in Bob Dylan in there at some point.

[Chaos]

Okay, so my big theory involves the ending

 

SPOILERS AHOY!

 

The last stretch of the movie features a near repeat of the opening of the movie, Llewyn waking up on the Gorfeins' couch, getting up and leaving the house, but stopping the cat from going out, so we know it's not one of those movies that runs out of chronological order, because the cat doesn't escape.  So, following forward and ending up with Davis beaten in the alley (again), we surmise that it's simply the next day because he was heckling the folk singer the previous day before ending up at the Gorfeins'.  

 

BUT, there are two clues that it's not the next day.  First off, the movie opens by specifically telling us that it's 1961.  But when Davis is walking past the movie theater, he sees a poster that advertises 'The Incredible Journey', but 'The Incredible Journey' was not released until 1963.  Secondly, after Davis plays his song and exits into the alley to get beaten up, Bob Dylan is singing 'Farwell'.  But 'Farewell', also, was not written until January 1963.  So, by these clues, I'm going on the theory that makes the film even sadder, is that Davis is still bumming around, no place to live, no success, still drunkenly heckling other singers and getting beaten up in alleys, for over years now.  Now where exactly the film takes that jump, I couldn't tell you.  The Chicago trip, indeed, feels like it takes a long time and when he gets back and talks to Jean and asks how the abortion went, Jean says "I'm doing it on Saturday!" and Davis says he forgot, he'd been on a trip that felt like a long time, but was actually only a couple days.  But, then again, given Davis' nature of cyclical destructive behaviour, this could be ANOTHER abortion.  So, maybe the Chicago trip actually encapsulates a longer period, or maybe not.  It is the Coen Brothers, after all.

 

 

I think the other thing that might help your theory is:

 

Pappi telling Llewyn that he wished he could nail Jean, and then telling Llewyn before he goes off on his drunken tangent that he did nail Jean, which caused Llewyn to go on his tangent.