The filmography of Joel and Ethan Coen feature dozens of idiosyncrasies worth writing home about — take their emphasis on eccentric characters that often satirize those from popular genres, for example. One might be able to notice a Coen Brothers flick from the moment the first featured character utters a single line of dialogue.
But as they write and direct every film under their belts as a duo, seeing both of their visions into a singular fruition, they’ve of course implemented dozens of other trademark filmmaking elements into their critically acclaimed oeuvre. And among those elements is showcased a deep-rooted love for folk music.
Whether it’s diegetic sound — voices, music, or noises in general that are heard by both the audience and the characters within the film’s context — or non-diegetic sound, which only the audience can hear, the Coens have played folk music for the aforementioned parties since the dawn of their career. In other words, when it comes to folk music, the Coens are just as likely to play it in the background of a scene for the audience to hear just as they are to have a roster of characters legitimately listening to or even playing the music within their respective scene.
And again, this has been a trend of theirs since they debuted in the eighties with a neo-noir crime film that will be touched on later. But when it comes to diegetic sounds, folk music that is enjoyed by both the viewers of the film and the characters therein, perhaps the most notable film from the Coens would have to be Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).
Inside Llewyn Davis
This is the one project of their career that revolves entirely around the music industry, as the title character Llewyn Davis — portrayed to a breakout, career-defining degree by Oscar Isaac — plays folk songs for a living. Well, sort of. The film chronicles his struggles as of late therein, as he fails to make waves within the industry while in tandem destroying his personal relationships.
He’s surrounded by other folk artists who are all arguably more successful than him: Jean Berkey (played by Carey Mulligan), Jim Berkey (played by Justin Timberlake), and Al Cody (played by Adam Driver), for example. But what’s most prominently worth noting about these characters are their respective styles of music opposed to their relationship with the titular character.
They each share their own dynamic with Llewyn that’s mirrored in — or, bookended by, in some cases — their style of singing and playing. Take Jean, for instance: she’s more reserved in tone than the others, much softer with her voice when singing. But when she’s conversing with Llewyn, she’s often times loud and angry. Then, Al Cody exhibits the opposite demeanors: very kind to Llewyn and careful when he speaks, but almost animated and annoying when performing.
The folk music of Inside Llewyn Davis is perhaps the main attraction for a lot of audiences opposed to the dynamics of its characters. But in some respects, the music features its own rapport with the audience, and in tandem develops into a character itself. And there’s no denying that the dulcet soundtrack as a whole goes down as one of the more qualitative elements of filmmaking on display herein, along with impressive performances and a rock-solid script. This can be viewed as the culmination of the Coens’ career in many respects, too, as it’s far from the first time they’ve worked with music of this ilk.
Their Other Films With Folk Music
In their feature film debut, Joel and Ethan Coen released Blood Simple (1984), an independent crime film with heavy elements of neo-noir. The score was written by Carter Burwell — in his feature debut, too — and sparked a long-lasting collaboration between the Coens and the composer. He scored their sophomoric film as well with Raising Arizona (1987), where he borrowed from a piece called “Goofing Off Suite” by Pete Seeger, which in turn includes an excerpt from “Russian Folk Themes and Yodel”.
But at the turn of the decade, Miller’s Crossing (1990) featured the most prominent folk tunes from anything in their oeuvre up to that point. The main theme thereof is based on the Irish folk ballad “Lament for Limerick”, with Burwell once again helming the film’s score. It stands out by virtue of his taking a traditional piece of music with relevant connections to culture and using it as the central motif of the overall arrangement. But at the turn of the following decade, the Coens teamed up with guitarist and songwriter T Bone Burnett to produce their most well-known soundtrack to-date.
As one of the most famous entries of their filmography, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) has several qualitative filmmaking elements worth writing home about. But of course, the main draw is its comedically inclined soundtrack, which broke numbers upon release in terms of sales. Starring George Clooney as Ulysses Everett McGill, the film also features John Turturro as Pete, and Tim Blake Nelson as Delmar O’Donnell. Together, those three characters comprise the film’s fictional band around whom the plot is centered: The Soggy Bottom Boys.
The actors lip-synched their lyrics, with professional singers Dan Tyminski, Harley Allen, and Pat Enright dubbing their singing voices for Clooney, Turturro, and Nelson respectively. The hit song featured in O Brother, called “Man of Constant Sorrow”, showcases exactly how the Coens use these folk tunes to a greater storytelling effect than simply existing as a funny tune to sing along with.
The lyrics therein give great allusions to The Odyssey by Homer, the epic poem on which the O Brother is based. And similar parallels can be made for “Fare Thee Well”, the featured song by the titular character from Inside Llewyn Davis — these songs define their respective films by dint of dulcet vocals with engaging lyrics, sure. But their cultural and metaphorical meanings go far beyond the existence of folk music in itself. The Coens recognize exactly what they were listening to and shared it for the world to hear. They just happened to create brilliant pieces of art in the process.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
