The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 15 - ‘Inside Llewyn Davis’

Summary

The Big Picture: Episode Summary – "The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 15 - Inside Llewyn Davis"

Introduction

In this special episode of The Big Picture titled "The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 15 - Inside Llewyn Davis," hosts Sean Fennessy and Amanda Dobbins delve deep into the intricacies of the Coen Brothers' acclaimed film, Inside Llewyn Davis. Released on July 16, 2025, this episode forms part of a series where Sean and Amanda, along with rotating Ringer colleagues like Chris Ryan, Van Lathan, and Bill Simmons, review essential movies, engage in Top 5s, Movie Drafts, Oscars analysis, and more.

Overview of Inside Llewyn Davis

Sean Fennessy opens the discussion by providing essential details about Inside Llewyn Davis. He highlights the film’s unique position in the Coen Brothers' oeuvre:

"It's a very rare non Roger Deakins shot movie for the Coens... edited by Roderick Jaynes, who is of course the Coen brothers." ([00:57])

The film stars Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, Adam Driver, and Justin Timberlake. The soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett, plays a pivotal role, reminiscent of the Coens' earlier work in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Reasons for Selection

Amanda Dobbins emphasizes the deliberation behind choosing Inside Llewyn Davis over other Coen Brothers classics such as No Country for Old Men, Fargo, and Raising Arizona. She notes:

"We have an A tier of the Coens that is very crowded, but no country is often considered the A tier." ([02:15])

Despite No Country for Old Men being a widely recognized masterpiece, Sean and Amanda felt an immediate connection to Inside Llewyn Davis, selecting it without extensive debate:

"I put no country on, and you pretty instantly were like, inside Llewyn Davis." ([02:34])

Themes and Characters

Sean delves into the film’s exploration of personal and artistic struggles. He describes Llewyn Davis as a folk singer at a crossroads, grappling with his ambition and the world's indifference:

"It's about York City folk singer named Llewyn Davis. He's at a crossroads... trying to figure out where he wants to go in life." ([01:53])

Amanda expands on the emotional depth of the film, contrasting it with the nihilism of No Country for Old Men:

"Most of it is like anger and regret and... deeply felt moments compared with no Country's total nihilism." ([04:42])

Performances and Casting

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Oscar Isaac’s portrayal of Llewyn Davis. Amanda praises his ability to convey profound emotion through music, stating:

"Oscar Isaac is amazing because... he is closed off, sad looking, and then he puts it all into the songs." ([31:09])

Sean highlights Justin Timberlake’s role as a commentary on commercialism within the folk scene:

"Justin Timberlake is the guy who is basically willing to compromise his folk ethics to write novelty tunes for record labels about going to space." ([15:12])

The dynamic between Llewyn and other characters, including Carey Mulligan’s portrayal of his love interest, adds layers of complexity to the narrative.

Comparison with Other Coen Brothers Films

The hosts compare Inside Llewyn Davis with other Coen Brothers projects, noting its unique blend of humor and melancholy:

"There is something really dark and something really light about this movie... a sense of doom." ([11:56])

They discuss how this film fits into the Coens' broader filmography, acknowledging its place among A Serious Man and True Grit as part of a tightly woven trio of impactful films.

Standing and Legacy of the Movie

Sean and Amanda debate the film's reputation over time, considering its critical acclaim versus commercial performance. Sean posits that Oscar Isaac’s rising star may have overshadowed the movie's standing in recent years:

"Maybe this movie is a little bit more forgotten than it would have been if he had been in hit after hit..." ([23:14])

Amanda notes the film’s recognition in prestigious lists, such as the New York Times' 100 movies poll where it ranked at 83, and a reader's choice at 95, underscoring its enduring admiration despite its modest box office success.

Future Episodes and Live Screening

Towards the episode's conclusion, Sean and Amanda shift focus to upcoming content, including a live episode recorded at the Music Box Theater in Chicago. They tease the reveal of their next film pick, maintaining an air of suspense:

"Our next episode will be our live episode. We will be in Chicago revealing at a secret screening, number 14." ([37:44])

They discuss logistical details, such as wardrobe strategies and audience engagement, hinting at an interactive and entertaining live session.

Notable Quotes

• Sean Fennessy on the film's emotional depth:

  "It's a very deep and fascinating portrait of the American spirit. Like the broken American spirit." ([07:44])

• Amanda Dobbins on the Coens' handling of adversity through humor:

  "They can only really deal with the bad stuff through, you know, a twisted, cynical sense of humor." ([09:18])

• Sean Fennessy reflecting on the future of the Coen Brothers:

  "How many more Coen Brothers movies will we get in this lifetime? For me, that's quite sad." ([28:57])

Conclusion

Inside Llewyn Davis holds a special place in The Big Picture's top 25 list, celebrated for its rich character study, masterful performances, and the Coen Brothers' ability to blend humor with profound sadness. Sean Fennessy and Amanda Dobbins provide a nuanced analysis that underscores the film's significance in portraying the often-overlooked narratives within the American folk scene. As they look forward to future episodes and live screenings, their passion for cinema continues to inspire listeners to explore and appreciate the depths of great filmmaking.

Transcript

[Sean Fennessy]

This episode of the Big Picture is presented by Starbucks. We are big Starbucks Frappuccino fans over here. So when we heard about the new Strato Frappuccino blended beverage, we had to try it. It's a crave worthy iced blended beverage topped with cold foam, making for delicious layers of flavor.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I love how Starbucks leans into the seasons, especially summer. From vibrant refreshers to cold blended beverages, there's always something exciting to sip on.

[Sean Fennessy]

Available now for a limited time only. Your Strato Frappuccino blended beverage is ready, Starbucks. I'm Sean Fennessy.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I'm Amanda Dobbins.

[Sean Fennessy]

And this is 25 for 25, a big picture special conversation show about inside Llewyn Davis. Should I sing right now?

[Amanda Dobbins]

Please.

[Sean Fennessy]

Hang me oh hang me.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

That was like slightly higher register.

[Sean Fennessy]

Hang me til I'm dead and gone. All right. Inside Llewyn Davis.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

This is our Coen brothers pick. I'll tell you some details about this film before we dive into why we have chosen it for the listeners at home. It is written and directed by the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan. It's produced by them and Scott Rudin, longtime producer of theirs. It stars Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedland, F. Murray Abraham, Adam Driver and Justin Timberlake. This movie is shot by Bruno Del Bonel. We were talking before the recording of this episode, a very rare non Roger Deakins shot movie for the Coens, which is an interesting choice for us since we worship deacons here on the show. Edited by Roderick Jaynes, who is of course the Coen brothers. Yeah, and this is another Coen's music movie. And so the soundtrack is once again produced by T Bone Burnett. Just as O Brother, Where Art Thou Was? And Marcus Mumford of Mumford and sons, who in 2013 was an extremely successful and popular musician.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Exactly.

[Sean Fennessy]

And now a little bit less so.

[Amanda Dobbins]

But is also still married to one of the stars of this film, Carey Mulligan.

[Sean Fennessy]

So this movie is set in 1961. It's about York City folk singer named Lewin Davis. He's at a crossroads. He's got his guitar, he's trying to figure out where he wants to go in life. Trying to make a name for himself as a singing star. But he can't get out of his own way. And fate won't get out of his way either. And so why did we choose this movie?

[Amanda Dobbins]

I do think, if I remember correctly, that the original list was no country for Old Men, which is the accepted both, you know, publicly and at The Academy, a masterpiece of this century, of the Cohens. Fargo. Not eligible. As my dad was sad to learn, Raising Arizona. Not eligible.

[Sean Fennessy]

You know, Miller's Crossing. Not eligible. Barton Fink Lebowski. There's a. There's a million. You know, the A tier of the Cohens is very crowded, but no country is often considered the A tier.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yes. And it won Best Picture, and so is probably the most widely seen of their films.

[Sean Fennessy]

And I think that's probably true.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Also came in 2007, which was, like, one of the, like, the great years of American cinema in our lifetimes. And so it being like the cream of. The cream of the crop makes it pretty significant. But I think I put no country on, and you pretty instantly were like, inside Llewyn Davis. And I just said, like, yes. And we didn't even. We didn't even have to talk it out. So maybe we can actually decide why. We can talk about why. We are both. For me, you know, I did rewatch no country also this week in order to, like, be able to justify it.

[Sean Fennessy]

Okay, I didn't do that.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I want to be able to talk a little bit. Why? And I felt even better. I, like, I felt. I rewatched Inside Llewyn Davis once, was like, yeah, we smashed this. Then rewatched no country again and was like, oh, wow, we, like, really smashed it. And then rewatched Inside Llewyn Davis a second time because I hadn't seen it probably in, like, five, maybe. Yeah, five. Five or seven years. And I think for me, in addition to, you know, the. The basic genre distinctions, obviously, like, no country is a Western, and, you know, I have limited patience for dust. And this is about, like, a struggling artist and, like. And a very classic. Cohen's just, like, loser guy, a guy who. It's just. It's not coming together. And how much of it is his fault and how much of it is the world's fault? Actually, it's both. But there is an emotion here, and. And most of it is, like, anger and regret and. And stymied. But there are deeply felt moments compared with no Country's, like, total nihilism, which it's a feat of as well. But I just find that inside Llewyn Davis, and the Llewyn Davis character stays with me.

[Unknown]

More.

[Sean Fennessy]

This message is brought to you by Apple Pay. No matter where you're going this summer, odds are you'll need to pay for a few things, like a ride, share a souvenir, or dinner at that spot on your bucket list. Instead of digging for your wallet every time, just use Apple Pay. It's accepted anywhere you see the contactless symbol and all it takes is a tap with iPhone or Apple Watch. The best part is you'll still earn the card rewards, points and cash back you love. Easy setup now, easier travels later with Apple Pay terms apply. I haven't revisited no Country. I, of course, think it is also a masterpiece. So to me, I'm not excellent.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I'm not trying to be like, yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

You know, it's not that it's bad, that's bad. I think there, it could be perceived as, like, trolling by not picking no Country. No country is a movie that I love. I loved it when it came out. I still love it. I haven't revisited it in a little while.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I mean, it's pretty fucked up in a good way.

[Sean Fennessy]

And I think it is thematically consistent with what the Cohens are interested in, which is sort of like everything's bad and there's nothing waiting for you at the end. You know, that's sort of where a lot of. Especially this era of their films, you know, A Serious man, which is really my favorite movie of theirs of the century, but I know, not yours. So I was, when I was making that choice to pivot from no country to another Cohen's, I thought Inside Lou and Davis would be kind of a perfect meeting point because it is, as you said, a signature, like a typical framework for them. The lead character, what he is doing, how he fits in the world, how the world accepts or rejects him. And it also is like most of the best Coens, funnier than no country for Old Men, I think. Certainly more emotional, as you said. And the music element is pretty profound. And it's really interesting to revisit this movie in the aftermath of a complete unknown, which, you know, quite literally puts that story onto the screen, as opposed to this, which is sort of a. Draws inspiration from it and is clearly using figures very closely who are in the world, but isn't as concerned with biographical detail as it is with using this moment in time as a portal to talk about what it's like to be alive then and now. So I think this is an incredibly special movie. I will say when I first saw it, I remember vividly the. That I did like it, but that I didn't totally. I shouldn't say I didn't get it, but that. Because it is quite a meandering movie and it does not have the kind of, like, rocket ship quality of no country or even of True Grit, which is Just like True Grit's like a crowd pleaser, you know, And True Grit was a big hit and this movie comes after that movie. Those two movies are adaptations. This is an original. I've probably watched this movie six or seven times in my life and. And it really deepens every time I revisit it because of the themes, because of Oscar Isaac's performance, because of what I think it means to them and how I think their best characters are often guys like this, Usually guys, sometimes women, but usually guys. And so it's just a very deep and fascinating portrait of the American spirit. Like the broken American spirit.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Totally.

[Sean Fennessy]

That also features beautiful folk music. So I feel pretty good about it. There's. There's a variety of other things that we can talk through. Any. Do you. Do you want to talk through the other Cohen's that, like, could have been contenders during this 25 year period? Like, oh, brother is 2000. We could have talked about that.

[Amanda Dobbins]

That could have been a pick. And. And when my dad was trying to guess the movies on the list and first guessed Fargo. Sorry. And then he was like, okay, Coen Brothers. And he said, oh, is it the Odyssey one? And I instinctively said, yes. And then I was like, wait a second. No, no, it's not O Brother. It's the other Odyssey one. But the cat is named Ulysses and this is a person on a journey who returns home. Yeah, but like, can he get home? Is like sort of. And what is it? Is sort of the question. So, you know, I guess this is a stand in for Christopher Nolan's the Odyssey as well.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, they beat Nolan to the odyssey twice before 2025.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, we were talking about Burn After Reading, which is the other film not filmed by Deakins.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, the one chivo, Emmanuel Lubezki shot that movie.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I'm really stressed. Do we have a Deakins on our list? I'm really stressed.

[Sean Fennessy]

I don't think so.

[Amanda Dobbins]

We don't.

[Sean Fennessy]

I don't think so.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I mean, that's a spoiler, I guess. And also, maybe we fucked up a little bit.

[Sean Fennessy]

I'll pull up his filmography while you're speaking.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay. But you know, I do love Burn After Reading. That is pure black comedy. So we are tending, with the exception of the Anchormans, towards like the, you know, the dark knights of the soul on this list in one way or another. I'm trying to think what else.

[Sean Fennessy]

Oh, yeah, we do. We have Stephen Daldry's the Reader is on our list, which I'm super excited about. So there will be a Deacon's entrant.

[Amanda Dobbins]

That's a good one.

[Sean Fennessy]

Appreciate it. Yeah, there's something really dark and something really light about this movie. I think every time it runs the risk of becoming too morose and self pitying, he shows us, they show us the slapstick that they're really gifted at. You know, there's a lot of physical comedy in this movie. There's a lot of physical expression in this movie. But there's also a lot of time just looking at Oscar Isaac's sad face and his kind of mournful like, how did I. Why am I getting fucked like this? You know, that sense of doom.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And I think every single really dark or down moment in the, in the movie also has humor in it because. And this is one of the ways that I relate to the Cohens is like, they can only really deal with the bad stuff through, you know, a twisted, cynical sense of humor. So you have Oscar Isaac, like absolutely pouring his heart on the line for F. Murray Abraham. And, you know, and that's like the, like his big moment. It's shot like he's outside the pearly gates, you know, it's like literally like, is he gonna make it or is it not? Is he not? And then I don't see a lot of money here, which is an absolutely cutting, essential thematic line. And also just fucking funny. Like really, really. And they just hold on F. Murray Abraham and he's just like, it's devastating and still a little bit of wit or when he plays for his father and there's like, are they connecting? Like what's going on without words here and through this music? And then there is some scatological humor. So it's. There is. They're working through it and you can feel them like working through it in these moments where sometimes in some of the other movies it's like a little closed off.

[Sean Fennessy]

I think that's partially because they've talked in the past about how they don't map out their movies. Like, they just start writing and then they just write through to where they think it should go. And a lot of the times they end up with something that is very tight and very, you know, it can be a little suffocating their world if you can't get onto their register, if you can't get oxygenated with the Cohens, then they can be limiting for some people. Obviously they're in a very rare air. For me, I love pretty much all their movies, give or take one or two. But this movie is a little bit warmer and a little Bit colder at the same time.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yes.

[Sean Fennessy]

And that balance of those temperatures, I think is really special here. And I don't see a lot of money here. Thing is definitely one of the reasons why I think this movie is so profound because it's like these are two guys who, I'm not sure if it's a bit rude as a point of view for the film because these are two guys who basically never compromised, who always made what they wanted to make, firmly came out of independent cinema and firmly believed in their point of view and somehow turn themselves into not just artistically but commercially successful artists. I mean, they've made movies that have made $100 million. And you point out the conversation between Carey Mulligan's character and Oscar Isaac's character where he says, you were calling me a careerist.

[Amanda Dobbins]

No, she does.

[Sean Fennessy]

She says, you were calling me a careerist and I was calling you a loser. And that's a really fascinating exchange because he is attacking her for wanting a suburban life, children, comfort, and she is mocking him for having this kind of over managed, sacred idea about artistry, which is bullshit. You know that like, there is certainly a universe where you can have both of those things. But because he's a person who is both unwilling to compromise and not shrewd, which is a very devastating place to be if you're an artist. You got to get really lucky. Now, whether the Cohens are actually very shrewd business people or creatives, they might be. You know, they've consistently been able to get movies made for 40 years.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

But coming from. It's like this is rich coming from you is how I feel watching the movie, sometimes not in a bad way. And then there's another thing too, which is about sort of like the fractious and bickering nature of artists, where you've got inside the folk scene a lot of different philosophies around what is and is not folk music. You've got a jazz musician who really looks down on the folkie. Got a beat poet who sort of like doesn't relate to anybody and feels completely alienated, doesn't say anything, just barely.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Speaks except for his terrible beat poetry.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And even, I mean the, the rivalries and the disrespect among the folk community. And you know, Oscar Isaac or Luyne Davis is, is like the pure folk singer, quote unquote. But that has diminishing returns. And then he is surrounded by people who are performing and portrayed in this film as just completely insufferable, like, very funny. It's mean, but also great. And typified, you know, most thoroughly by Justin Timberlake in one of the great casting coups of anyone's career.

[Sean Fennessy]

I would love to know how aware Justin Timberlake is of how he was used in this movie because he is the classical pop tool. I don't mean like tool like in a derogatory sense, but I kind of do.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I thought you actually did.

[Sean Fennessy]

I kind of do. I do think he eventually became a kind of interesting pop star and I definitely enjoy his solo albums, but he was a boy band machine. And he is identified in this movie as a guy who is basically willing to compromise his folk ethics to write novelty tunes for record labels about going to space.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And at this time, Justin Timberlake was the voice of McDonald's. And that's an ingenious stroke by the Cohens.

[Amanda Dobbins]

This is three years after he is the asshole billionaire in Sean Parker in the Social Network. So he must have some awareness. But also, like all evidence of the 10 years after this or 12 years and this is going to ruin the tour suggests that perhaps not.

[Sean Fennessy]

Maybe he doesn't. Maybe he didn't get it. Maybe he didn't know that he was being identified by frankly very cold hearted auteur filmmakers like David Fincher and the Coen Brothers. Anyhow, they took advantage of his fame.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And I think Timberlake's really into Zodiac and so he's like, yeah, I'm gonna. That's what I'm gonna.

[Sean Fennessy]

I think it's possible that he thinks he is.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

You know what I mean?

[Amanda Dobbins]

Sure.

[Sean Fennessy]

So the other thing about this movie too is that he is. His character is being cucked so hard by Llewyn Davis because he is a member of Jean and Jim. This couple with Carey Mulligan. Do we even. I guess we see them perform together one time, but we very rarely see them interacting with each other.

[Amanda Dobbins]

With the other guy.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, the third.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yes, but otherwise, yes, they basically, they're seated at the table in the club for one moment, but she goes away very quickly because she doesn't want to be involved.

[Sean Fennessy]

It's a very clever, semi self referential joke. Adam Driver, also hilarious in this movie as Al Cody Space. Like the cowboy counterpart to Jim.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And this is early Girls era. Like this is. This is pretty early Adam Driver and also very, very exciting. But early on the scene, it's right.

[Sean Fennessy]

On the precipice of the Force Awakens when he is set to become a bigger movie star. I sure wish I could have had at least one more. One movie where Adam Driver was the star of a Coen Brothers movie. I I he's maybe like a little too big and strong. That's not really what they do. He would need to be a little lankier. They don't. He could, he can get that chested men. Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I mean, in this era he was lankier. You know, he's lanky in this movie. They're not a lot of swole guys, but so, you know, maybe he could cut back on the macros.

[Unknown]

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[Sean Fennessy]

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[Amanda Dobbins]

Is just like, he was lovely and was interested in all types of music and a founding member of the Greenwich Village community.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, I mean, he is a big part of no Direction Home, the Martin Scorsese Bob Dylan documentary, which is really, really great, if people haven't seen that. I talked about it during the Complete Unknown episode. And you can see he's just. He seems like a nice man. So it's not ideal that this happened to him. Although I will say Oscar Isaac is certainly a bit more handsome than Dave Van Rock was. So there's a trade off there. But Van Ronk is a guy who's, like, very loyal to the folk cause, the artistic cause, understood a lot of historical American forms of music, and sat deeply in the scene and also watched Bob Dylan hit the scene and Bob Dylan take off like a rocket and then leave the scene and kind of leave behind a lot of these figures. And the fact that there's a movie that is focusing on the guy who didn't win is tremendously unusual. There's just not a lot of examples, especially in the world of the arts.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Amadeus. But that's it.

[Sean Fennessy]

It's featuring F. Murray Abraham.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, it is. But at least that movie has a lot of.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yes, it does. Yeah. You understand.

[Sean Fennessy]

You see him conducting and you're like, he's Mozart.

[Amanda Dobbins]

It's doing both. It's the idea, but not the execution.

[Sean Fennessy]

This movie as a kind of counter. And that would make a good double feature, actually, but this movie as a counter, we only see Bob Dylan perform once. But when we see him perform in the final moments of the movie, it also makes sense, because even though his voice is not as purely beautiful as, you know, in Key as Oscar Isaac's voice, there's money there. There's something there with Dylan. And so the whole movie is this psychological portrait of a guy maybe deep down knowing, but not being able to accept that he's the other guy, that he's not the winner.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Right.

[Sean Fennessy]

You know, he keeps impregnating women who he's not dating. His musical partner has jumped off the George Washington Bridge. He's lost a cat.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

He signs away the royalties.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Well, he lost someone else's cat. And then he Has a tango with his own cat, but he can't even commit to the cat.

[Sean Fennessy]

Some cat trouble in this movie. And he signs away the royalties to the Please Mr. Kennedy song, which is in the moment. You're like the slow moving car crash. What are you doing? Don't sign away the royalties to your pop song. No, you fool. Just because you need 200 bucks. So, yeah, it's a miserableist doomed man in a Coen Brothers movie. But funny with great songs, so easy pick, I think. I don't know. What do you think the standing reputation of this movie is right now?

[Amanda Dobbins]

I think that it's really admired, but I don't think it's trollish to include this. I guess it's maybe a little counterfactual, but that's. That's what we do here. But I think also anecdotally I told my husband, like, oh, yeah, we're doing Inside Llewyn Davis. And he was like, that's sick. And then he was like, I'll come watch it with you, and was like, I love that you guys are doing this one. So then I told him some other feature picks and he's like, I don't agree. So, you know, to me, that was a good success. You know, like, look, we got it. I think admired, but not celebrated in the same way. And I don't know whether that's because it mirrors, like the other guy trajectory.

[Sean Fennessy]

Can I suggest the theory about this?

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

At the time when the movie was coming out, we were at the very beginning of the Oscar Isaac moment.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

So he had appeared in Chris Ryan's beloved Born Legacy.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Sure.

[Sean Fennessy]

As the third guy. And then he has a run of Inside Llewyn Davis, A Most Violent Year, Ex Machina, and culminating in Star the Force Awakens.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And he was being presented to us in the Force Awakens as the new Han Solo, the dashing rebel. And the Force Awakens made a billion dollars and was a massive success.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And he was very good in it.

[Sean Fennessy]

He's great in the movie. I think that character is a little underwritten.

[Amanda Dobbins]

The thing is that Han Solo was also in that movie. So not ideal.

[Sean Fennessy]

The other thing is that Adam Driver was in that movie. And I think the takeaway from that movie, which people liked, was that, you know, Adam Driver and then I think also Daisy Ridley were the real standouts. And he was a slightly older guy trying to seem cool. And Oscar Isaac has not stopped working since that movie. He's had a very successful career. He is a little bit closer to like an a Plus character actor now than he is a leading man. And the leading man thing never fully concretized.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And so now maybe this movie is a little bit more forgotten than it would have been if he had been in hit after hit after hit in the last 10 years. Do you. What do you think?

[Amanda Dobbins]

And also slightly more prophetic, you know, but it like it's. It's all baked into the thing. It like looks like, damn, I hadn't.

[Sean Fennessy]

Even thought of that.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah. But the sense that he is, you know, he is playing the other guy, the person who doesn't quite have whatever it is. And a movie that I think is like artistically like sublime but doesn't. Didn't commercially break through in the. In the same way that their previous films had. Didn't. Wasn't recognized at the Oscars is sort of like this, this diamond that no one's paying attention to because Bob Dylan's over here.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, it's. I guess it's not surprising because there's not anything terribly commercial about period piece about a made up person who loses. That's just not. It's hard to sell that. The Academy is interesting though, you bring that up because they had this grand moment of acceptance in 96 with Fargo. They were nominated for best picture. They won an Academy Award for their screenplay. That was a Hollywood arrival moment for them. But no country for Old Men was picture, director, screenplay, supporting actor. Supporting actor. This is the best movie of the year.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Over There Will Be Blood and no.

[Sean Fennessy]

And Michael Clayton and Zodiac and a whole host of other movies. Atonement and there's like 07, as we know, like you mentioned at the top is just a crazy roster of movies.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Is that Juno also?

[Sean Fennessy]

I believe it's also the Juno.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

This movie I think only got two Oscar nominations and you can make a case. I'm not sure if I would make this case, but you could make a case that Serious Man, True Grit in this movie is one of their tightest three film runs.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I mean it's funny because I think most people, I guess Burn After Reading is in the middle. So you can't do.

[Sean Fennessy]

No, it's before.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Burn After Reading is before.

[Sean Fennessy]

I think it's before no Country.

[Amanda Dobbins]

No, it's no Country. Burn After Reading. True Grit, Lewyn Davis.

[Sean Fennessy]

No. A Serious Man Inside the Wind.

[Amanda Dobbins]

But I think. I guess most people would kind of swing back towards no country to try to make the Trio. But I.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yes, I mean they have many interesting three movie formulations where they're running hot. But those are three incredibly different movies. A Serious Man, True Grit and Inside Llewyn Davis. And there people were just like, this is good.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, I like this. And then they've made other films that we love since then. But this is looking at.

[Sean Fennessy]

I love Hail Caesar. Love Hail Caesar.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I love Hail Caesar too. But like, Hail Caesar is. You know, they're having fun. And they got Channing Tatum doing Gene Kelly.

[Sean Fennessy]

It's them in Hudsucker proxy mode.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, yeah. And a little bit of like burn after reading mode as well. And you have great affection for Ballad of Buster Scruggs and you do not.

[Sean Fennessy]

Because it's an anthology film.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, I do.

[Sean Fennessy]

I think it's a great movie.

[Amanda Dobbins]

But still, it's not major works. It's not right. So I was kind of surprised when I was looking back at the filmography. I was like, oh, this was kind of like the last Coen Brothers masterpiece.

[Sean Fennessy]

There's certainly a case for that.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I know.

[Sean Fennessy]

And it's 12 years ago now, and they haven't made a movie together since the Ballad of Buster Scrubs, which is six years ago. And that's often forgotten. Aspect I think of the amazing year of 2019 is there was also a Coen Brothers movie that year. It just happened to be on Netflix, so it doesn't have the same connection.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Though at the time, people are making memes out of it. So this is great.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, some good memes. Some really good. Some really good performances in there. I mean, the James Franco meme persists to this day. First time. So six years since they've made a movie together. Ethan Cohen is about to release this summer, his second movie. I think this one is actually officially co directed with Trisha Cook, I can't remember, with his wife. I can't remember if Driveway Dolls was officially, officially credited as co directed. But they've been writing these movies together. Joel Cohen has made one movie, the Tragedy of Macbeth, which was released I think in 2021. And I've heard rumors that they're going to get back together and do something else. But Joel Cohen is 70. It kind of took me. It kind of braced me to read that Joel Cohen is 70 years old. So it's not that a 70 year old can't make a movie. Of course they can. Marty Scorsese is going to make a movie at 85 years old. But time is getting short.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And how many more Coen Brothers movies will we get in this lifetime? For me, that's quite sad. You know, I really. They were a big trampoline for me, taste wise totally taught me a lot about how to watch movies. And then I watched one of the special features on the Criterion of Inside Lumen Davis last night. It was a conversation between Guillermo del Toro and Joel and Ethan. Joel and Ethan don't do like a ton of long form interviews, but it was a 40 minute interview conversation with GDT and they just talked at length about influence and things they like and how they put it in their movies. And part of the conversation was that they always rewatch a couple of movies, or at least they did in the 80s and 90s before starting a new movie. This is something that Barry Sonnenfeld, their original longtime cinematographer, revealed publicly once. And then they're like, God damn it, now we got to talk about this for the rest of our careers. But one of the movies was the Third Band, which I always say is my favorite movie. And like, I don't. Did I read once that they said that that was their favorite movie and that led me to the Third Man. I can't remember, but it's possible.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And their, their films and what their films brought put in front of people. You know, Preston Sturgis is also a huge influence on them. I love Preston Sturgis. That was another person who like unlocked in my 20s. Those are my favorite comedies in my 20s. So it's crazy to look at their career and be like they're not going to do anything else. It's quite sad in a time when you can't get old people out of the paint. You know, these guys want to make a movie together.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Is that like, have they said that publicly like they have done?

[Sean Fennessy]

They haven't because they don't do very much publicly at all.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, but they're not really. It's not trending that way.

[Sean Fennessy]

No. So one thing that I do think is interesting about this movie specifically is it did make the New York Times 100 movies poll.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

It hit at 83.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

Which is pretty good. And then it hit 95 on the reader's choice. So it does have some standing. Sure. 95, I would say, is pretty good for the century for the readers for a movie that didn't make any money. Yeah, Kind of happy about that. But those two Oscars that they got nominated for, just cinematography and sound mixing, I guess there's no original songs in the film because they're all folk traditions.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Once again, that's such a stupid category.

[Sean Fennessy]

Do you have a favorite performance in the movie, like a favorite musical performance?

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah, I think the. What is it? The ballad Of Queen Jane. Whatever he plays at the gate of.

[Sean Fennessy]

Horn for Bud Grossman.

[Amanda Dobbins]

For Bud Grossman, yeah. Is pretty, like, gut wrenching. And the Oscar Isaac performance is amazing because in almost everything he's doing as like a talking, walking person, he is closed off, sad looking, and then he puts it all into the songs. And so when he is singing, I mean, he can sing, but also, like the actual depth of performance. I'm on record as saying, as most people shouldn't sing, but this is one of these situations where he's doing a lot with his singing. And that is those three minutes or whatever is when it all bubbles up. Like the hope and the. You know, maybe it's gonna work out. And even the text of the song itself is like, no, it's not actually not gonna work out. You know, like a folk song without a happy ending. But that's the most memorable.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, I like them all. I mean, we get to see him sing Hang Me. Oh, Hang Me a couple times. Green Green Rocky Road is a song I listened to on the way to school. Drop off this morning with my daughter. She did not ask me to turn it off. Always a good sign when she does not try to grab the aux cord from me at 8 o' clock in the morning. Oh, brother or art thou. Yeah, the music was such a major part of that. The movie sold. The soundtrack sold 8 million copies. The movie did pretty well at the box office. Not a huge hit. I always sense that you're like, not. It's not your favorite, is it? Because it's the more slapsticky mode of the Cohens.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah. And it's not that I don't like. They're very good at that and I appreciate it. But I don't know, honestly, when Clooney is trying that hard to be funny, unless it's. And it's. I guess it's sort of making fun of him and Byrne after reading it. He's making a lot of fun of himself.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yes.

[Amanda Dobbins]

But, yeah, it doesn't quite land for me comedically the way the others do.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah, I like it quite a bit, but it does feel kind of stacked in the middle. I know for some people, like, I know David Shoemaker, for example. That's his favorite Coen Brothers movie and one of his favorite movies of all time, which I was surprised to hear when he said that. But I know it holds a special place. And I think some people will look at the list and be like, well, that is 21st century and it's a music movie and it's The Odyssey, and it's an arc about a loser.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Well, guess what? We have another one.

[Sean Fennessy]

We do. A Complete unknown.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

Does this movie look better after A Complete unknown? Are they just a perfect match for two different filmmaking sensibilities? Does it.

[Amanda Dobbins]

How do you feel? No, it definitely looks better.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Come on. Because it. And it is also. I think that. I mean, it's a great double feature also, because what a Complete Unknown is doing and, like, sort of interrogating, but also not interrogating. Like, the lack of interrogation in A Complete Unknown to me, is a little bit interesting, but it does also have, like, the 4,000 shots of everyone gazing adoringly.

[Sean Fennessy]

Well, that's the thing.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And this is just like 4,000 shots of Oscar Isaac being like, I fucking hate you.

[Sean Fennessy]

Yeah. That's the thing that was so interesting is A Complete unknown. I think this was a great choice. This is the best thing about the movie.

[Amanda Dobbins]

But.

[Sean Fennessy]

But A Complete Unknown feels like James Mangold watched Inside Llewyn Davis.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

Watched the last 30 seconds of Bob Dylan singing Farewell.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And then was like, I'm gonna make a whole movie like that where we're at a distance, we're at a remove. We cannot deny the power and beauty of what this person represents, but it is still mysterious to us.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

And we will not really process someone on the outside of that experience as much. Those are the only people that we get to really feel their feelings, but they're really neatly matched. It's really cool that, like, 10 years later, you basically get a response movie. The response movie is, like, a little bit more rote. Typical.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Sure. A little bit more commercial and not as. I think the performances in the response movie are very good, I think.

[Sean Fennessy]

Very good.

[Amanda Dobbins]

The cinematography and the production design and just the recreation of the village and Inside Llewyn Davis is, unsurprisingly, like, pitch perfect. And so when you compare the two of them, A Complete Unknown just looks a little bit more like they put Instagram filters on something, you know, sometimes.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

You know what? That movie, A Complete Unknown gets something right, though, that a lot of the folkies were really mad about with Inside Llewyn Davis, which is that it feels like a kind of more like rambunctious time revelry in the folk scene where it's like everybody kind of knew each other. It was very competitive, but people were getting drunk and they were having sex, and it was. It felt more like they're getting drunk.

[Amanda Dobbins]

And having sex in this movie. It's just that that's experienced in.

[Sean Fennessy]

In different A very mournful version of sex, though. You know, a very mournful version of drinking. It doesn't. There's not a lot of celebration. And so I think, you know, a lot of these boomers looked back at this movie when they released it, and they were like, ironically, why did we let these guys from Minnesota, of course, where Bob Dylan comes from, make a movie about Greenwich village in the 60s? They didn't get how fun everything was. But that's not the idea of the movie.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Right.

[Sean Fennessy]

The idea of the movie is.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Or the idea of the Coen brothers.

[Sean Fennessy]

Well, they can have fun, but they're always having.

[Amanda Dobbins]

That's not how they have fun.

[Sean Fennessy]

They're having fun in God's universe, you know, not their own universe. And we are all stuck in God's fate. And that seems like a pretty good place to wrap this conversation. Any other double features you want to cite? I mean, the Complete Unknown and O Brother, Where Art Thou are obvious. Matches Amadeus. Now that we've seen Amadeus was a great call. I like that a lot. I put train spotting because. Train spotting. Here's my thinking on this. There's not a lot of great movies about losers. Not a lot of great movies about, like, groups, units, periods of time, you know. Yeah, the kind of English and Scottish smack heads of London in the 1990s. That's a scene, you know. That is a scene. Is it as artistic as inside Llewyn Davis and what Lewyn Davis was getting up to? Not exactly, but there's a kind of poetry to what those characters are talking about. I don't know. Anything else spring to mind?

[Amanda Dobbins]

No, a complete unknown just jumped out. And I guess for most people, if you've seen a Complete unknown recently enough that you can just go rewatch this. And it is a fun exercise.

[Sean Fennessy]

Okay.

[Amanda Dobbins]

A Complete unknown. Not on our list. No spoilers.

[Sean Fennessy]

No, it's not on our list. We've put two Wolverine movies by James Mangold on our list instead, which I'm really excited about. So two Wolverine movies and the reader now everyone knows about. So that knocks us down to. What number is this one?

[Amanda Dobbins]

This is 15.

[Sean Fennessy]

How are you feeling?

[Amanda Dobbins]

I feel great.

[Sean Fennessy]

Our next episode will be our live episode. We will be in Chicago revealing at a secret screening, number 14.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Well, it's not. It's not secret. It was announced and people bought.

[Sean Fennessy]

The Screening is not Secret. The title of the film is a Secret.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Can I ask you a question about this?

[Sean Fennessy]

Yes, you may.

[Amanda Dobbins]

So because we're going to. We're going to briefly intro the screening.

[Sean Fennessy]

At the Music Box Theater.

[Amanda Dobbins]

At the Music Box Theater. And then we're going to record the episode live afterwards. At the Music Box Theater. So when we go up to intro, are we going to say what the movie is or are we just going to wait until it comes up on the screen?

[Sean Fennessy]

Amazing question.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I think we should do the latter. And I have. But this also. I'm asking now because this also affects Jack and Sam.

[Sean Fennessy]

Agree.

[Amanda Dobbins]

They have my wardrobe strategy, so.

[Sean Fennessy]

Because. So you won't wear the revealing item.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

You have gear for this movie?

[Amanda Dobbins]

Yeah. Listen, have you not thought about your wardrobe at all for this trip?

[Sean Fennessy]

Wait, you found the costume that Kate Winslet wore in the Reader and you were gonna wear it to this screening? That's amazing.

[Amanda Dobbins]

To be clear, I will not be wearing a Nazi costume in Chicago or ever.

[Sean Fennessy]

Seems like a great idea.

[Amanda Dobbins]

That's okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

I like what you're cooking up. I gotta say. That's a good idea to.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I hope that's okay with the.

[Sean Fennessy]

We wait for the title to hit.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

Well, why wouldn't it be? That would learn five minutes later.

[Amanda Dobbins]

I'm just curious, like, at what point who is going to be able to tell from, like, the, you know, the producers or the credits? Like, at what point in the room does someone know what it is?

[Sean Fennessy]

There might be some music that is recognizable early on.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

But we'll see the real heads, the real big picture heads. We'll get it right away.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Do you think the real, real big picture heads already know what it is?

[Sean Fennessy]

There's been some guesses.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Sean Fennessy]

A popular guess was the Dark Knight because it was shot in Chicago and could have represented the city. And as we know now, that was not the case. Not the Dark Knight. I'm very excited about that show. I'm very excited about our live show. I am as well, which I can reveal. It will be a draft which will be fun. CR will be there.

[Amanda Dobbins]

We got a sidebar on the rules of that draft.

[Sean Fennessy]

We can. Sidebar.

[Unknown]

Yeah.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Eligibility. I think we should just discuss. Or maybe we can save it for the stage. That's fine. That always goes well.

[Sean Fennessy]

People love it when you yell at me about the rules I've created. So maybe that's just a feature, not a bug of that episode. Thank you to Jack Sanders for his work on this episode. Later this week, an Eddington podcast. Oh, wow. Adam Neyman will join us to discuss Ari Aster's new movie. Ari will also be on the show. Had a nice long conversation with him about it. And I've just got an enormous amount of feelings about this movie.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay.

[Sean Fennessy]

I'm very excited to break it down. I'm gonna see it a second time so that I can be a little sharper than I normally would be. And you feel excited to discuss it with me?

[Amanda Dobbins]

I'm very excited to talk about it. Now I'm like, oh, when am I gonna see it a second time?

[Sean Fennessy]

Well, I'm going on Tuesday if you'd like to come.

[Amanda Dobbins]

Okay. I'll check the calendar.

[Sean Fennessy]

Okay. Thank you for listening to the show. Thank you for listening to 25 for 25. Maybe we'll see you in Chicago. Maybe not.