The Death of Queen Jane
Last night I watched Inside Llewlyn Davis. Made in 2013 by the Coen brothers, it stars
the truly unbelievable Oscar Isaac. This guy can seriously act and he is
stunningly photogenic. Plus, he gets to play an interesting complex character.
This is a film that follows a formula I
love: A story with few players that unfolds chronologically and occurs in a
relatively short period of time. And, little happens of consequence. There are
no big moments; it is simply a glimpse of life. I loved it.
I watched this whole movie, set in the
Greenwich Village heydays of the 1960s with nostalgic eyes. I lived through the
folk music era and loved many of its practitioners and this film very
effectively captures the time and the music. It is a very musical film.
There are two particularly powerful and
moving musical scenes. In one, Llewelyn sings The Death of Queen Jane at an audition that goes nowhere. It is,
Isaacs is, absolutely perfection; you totally believe it is Isaacs singing. And
when he sings Shoals of Herring for
his disappearing father, the world stops.
Isaccs is in nearly every scene. It is a
tour-de-force performance so I watched the credits with interest to see what I
could learn. I was gob smacked; Oscar Isaacs not only did the singing, he plays the guitar and he did a
lot of the arranging. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
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