Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Your School. Your Paper. Since 1936.

The Suffolk Journal

Debut actor Oscar Isaac talks of new film Inside Llewyn Davis

By: B.E. Alexander

Inside Llewyn Davis is the poignant new film from Joel and Ethan Coen (directors of No Country for Old Men and Fargo), about a struggling folk singer living in the Greenwich Village folk scene during 1961. It is loosely based on the life of Dave Von Ronk, a folk singer nicknamed the “Mayor of MacDougal Street.” Llewyn Davis (played by Oscar Isaac in his breakout performance) is finding it more and more difficult to make a living out of performing after the death of his former music partner.

The Journal was able to interview Issac. Here is a Q&A from that interview:

Q: How did you get involved with this movie?

A: I saw that they were making a movie on the Internet, and I got the casting director to get me an audition.

 

Q: Was the audition focused more on the acting or singing and playing guitar?

A: You needed to do both. You had to do two scenes and perform the song,  ‘Hang me, Oh Hang me’ that Llewyn sings in the film.

 

Q: How did you prepare for this role?

A: It was a lot of work. I had to learn to do this particular style of guitar playing called “travis picking.” I had to research more on the time period. I talked to a lot of the people who were there during the folk scene of the 1960s. I had to work on the physicality of the character, and how I wanted to express what was happening to him emotionally in an external way. So, for instance, I decided that he would always look like he was walking uphill even if he was walking downhill to signify he was always in a state of struggle.

 

Q: Did your experience playing with your band, The Blinking Underdogs, before you decided to shift to acting, influence how you approached this role?

A: Yes. I think it did. I was playing punk/ska at the time when interest in it was starting to go away. So, I had to make a decision. Alright, why am I doing this? Do I still have something to contribute to the medium? What’s more fulfilling to me as an artist? And I think that is what Llewyn is struggling with.

 

Q: The Coen brothers work so closely together that they seem like one directing entity. Can you explain the difference between the two brothers?

A: To a certain extent, Joel is more in charge of the technical aspects. He’ll always check in with Ethan to see what he thinks. If there is ever any disagreement between the two, who ever feels the strongest will decide what to do.

 

Q: In the film, themes of cycles and farewells are repeated. The word “farewell” is in a lot of the songs, and even “goodbye” is the last word of the entire film. What do the ideas of cycles and farewells in the film mean to you?

A: I think grief is a big thing that is happening in Llewyn Davis. He’s having to say goodbye to not only his former partner and the ghost of his partner, but to that strange moment in time before the folk messiah, Bob Dylan, comes. It’s a little bit of an apocalyptic film. This guy (Llewyn) is wondering around in this time before the rapture happens, and so the theme of goodbyes is definitely there.

 

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Debut actor Oscar Isaac talks of new film Inside Llewyn Davis