One Night Only

Were it not for a certain Richard Linklater sequel currently flooring audience in Sundance, Inside Llewyn Davis would be my most anticipated film of 2013 by a wide margin. And that was before this trailer came out and knocked me on my ass. Everything about this one screams A-list Coens material. That frigid Wintery cinematography. The power in Carey Mulligan's voice. The perfect choice of Dylan on the soundtrack. 

A few more quick observations:

• This is the rare Coen film not shot by the great Roger Deakins. The only other ones are Burn After Reading, shot by Lubezki, and their first three films, which were shot by Barry Sonnenfeld. Llewyn Davis is the work of Amelie cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel. He looks to have picked up right where Deakins left off without missing a beat. That shot of the cat's reflection. Wow.

• John Goodman is on a serious roll. Three best picture nominees in two years (Argo, The Artist, Extremely Loud) and in 2013 it's this and Clooney's Monuments Men. Since he should already have two Oscar nods for his work with the Coens (Lebowski, Barton Fink) it would be fitting that he finally get his first nod for reuniting with them. Judging by the trailer he certainly makes a big impression.

• In recent the Coens have had a real knack for handing out leading roles to under the radar guys like Josh Brolin and Michael Stuhlbarg and turning them into A-Listers. Now it's Oscar Isaac's turn.

• Love the choice to leave Llewyn's singing out of the trailer. This is a great example of a teaser that gives the flavor of the film without divulging big chunks of plot.

• Carey Mulligan is giving off powerful vibes in this thing and her look fits the time period perfectly. Sometimes it only takes a few seconds to tell when the actor is landing in a big way with a role and that's the case here. Love the way she comes down hard on the word "asshole". Maybe she'll grab that second nomination that she should have got for Shame.

• Coen dialogue is still the Rolls-Royce of movie dialogue.  "Condom on condom" "Really, so bring your dick along too?" "Why should I? You're here. Play me something."

• I am indifferent to Timberlake being in this although it rubs others the wrong way. I've neither loved him nor disliked him on screen before. This is certainly his best chance to prove something. If he can't stand out with a Coen's script behind him, than what can he stand out with?