Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake's hotly-tipped new movie, Inside Llewyn Davis, is released this weekend. And while the tale of a down-on-his luck singer on the 1960s New York folk scene might not immediately appeal, here's why it really IS the coolest film we've seen in a long time...
1. It's directed by the Coen Brothers. Daring directing and producing duo Ethan and Joel are well known for their off-beat flicks. With a (very) long line of hits, including O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country For Old Men and Burn After Reading, already under their belts, their last film, True Grit, was nominated for a whopping 10 Academy Awards. Wow.
2. It stars Oscar Iscaac. Forget Carey Mulligan for a minute; Oscar Iscaac is the coolest new kid in town. Holding his own as folk singer Llewyn Davis among a stellar cast, this smouldering star, who has only landed supporting roles until now, really puts himself on the map - and is truly believable as the 1960s folk singer. One to watch.
3. Marcus Mumford provides the music. The songster joined T Bone Burnett to work on the soundtrack, which features a several moody tunes by Carey Mulligan (cool) and a collaboration with Justin Timberlake (very cool).
4. Justin Timberlake is ace. JT leaves his usually smooth persona at home to play Jean (Carey Mulligan)'s hubby Jim - and pulls off several brilliant folky duets, plus some funky shirts and an impressive beard. You've never seen him quite like this before…
5. It won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival. Second only to the highly prestigious Palme d'Or, the Grand Prix winner is carefully selected from competing films by the jury of stars and industry experts (this year including Christoph Waltz, Nicole Kidman and Steven Spielberg), and awarded at the end of the festival. An excellent sign.
6. Oscar Isaacs' sidekick is a scruffy ginger cat. We love cats. In fact, we reckon there should be more cats in films. This one stars front and centre as the surprise furry lead - the pet of Llewyn Davis' friends, who he accidentally lets out of their apartment, and spends most of the film trying to catch and return. Amongst a lot of other things, of course. According to the Coen brothers, working with said moggy (they actually used three) was ‘a pain in the ass’. ‘We had multiple cats that would act in specific ways,' Joel revealed in a recent interview. 'So we had a docile cat, an active cat, a running cat. You can’t train them.' Right then…
Inside Llewyn Davis is released today.
WATCH the trailer, here…