This project is the second part of an ongoing analysis of Coen Brothers films with regards to script and story structure. The part of the project here involved taking a third film and adding it to the analysis.
The second
part of Copycat involved analyzing another film and comparing it on the chart.
This time I chose Inside Llewyn Davis as the film. This analyzation chart will
probably contain some spoilers to the movie so viewers beware.
I chose this movie because I wanted to see it pretty badly,
as it looks like a brilliant film. The other reason is that in examining the
movie it appears to be much shorter than the other two, which may have an
effect on the writing style the Coens use for this one. Again Davis uses a
different genre in this film than both of the other ones. The fact that I have not seen the film before may have an effect on the analysis, but I'll do my best.
This one
was very interesting to say the least. The graphing of the characters took a
very different turn from the other films. To start, the movie was a lot shorter
than the other two, so the timings for the movie were not expected to have
matched up. It was also a bit harder to judge when the high moments of the film
were; Inside Llewyn Davis had less action than the other two films (at least
from a physical standpoint). It’s a much harder film, emotionally and also has
a lot more of a human quality to it because of it.
The biggest
difference between Inside Llewyn Davis and the other two films is the placement
of the Climax. I felt that playing for Grossman in the Gate of Horn was the
scene that had the most tension, but it happens before the lowest point in the
movie and also does not exactly signal the end of the Desis; there are more
points that are complicating the plot rather than resolving it, though these
points can have different interpretations. Llewyn’s choice to go into the navy
and leaving that decision uncertain seem more like Desis than Lusis. The point
where Davis finds out that Jean is probably swindling him for abortion money in
order to continue playing at the Gaslight is definitely a turning point.
Inside Llewyn Davis doesn't seem to match the formula that the other movies seem to be following, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good movie. Joel and Ethan are able to create story in a remarkable amount of ways, and the style they use is incredibly versatile. I think storytelling isn't something that can be correlated into a formula. It's an interesting thought but I think the ability to write is not related to Aristotle's structure, it seems to have the elements of it yes, a beginning middle and end, but depending on the story, these can change significantly.
If you'd like to see the breakdown chart, I have it below, it does contain spoilers.
Inside Llewyn Davis: 104 mins
Set up- Introduction to Davis “Hang me”- 0-5 mins
Inciting Incident- Gorfein’s cat/Jean is Pregnant- 5-14 mins
Desis- Cat runs/ jean doesn’t know who father is- 21-25 mins
2- The Columbia session-29-35 mins
3-Diane had the baby/wrong cat-40-47 mins
4-Llewyn goes to Chicago- 47-60 mins
5- arrest on the road/ Llewyn is left on the highway- 60-64
mins
6- Gate of Horn/ Llewyn hits the cat-64-76 mins
7- Davis prepares to ship out and can’t/ meet the father-
77-87 mins
Peripeteia- Llewyn gets thrown out of the gaslight- 87-91
mins
Climax- Llewyn plays for Grossman- 65-73 mins
Lusis- Ulysses and forgiveness of Llewyn- 90-94 mins
Anagorisis- repetition of the first day- 94-99 mins (end)