In the story fragment of "Drunken Country Ballad", Levian-Davis's life has not changed, and it seems that after a circle, he has returned to the same place. But, after a closer analysis, is this really the case?

In just one week, Levien learned that he was about to become a father, but he had to raise money to dispose of the child because he was pregnant with his best friend's wife, and because he simply did not have the energy and ability to raise the child.

Levien met a group of young people who dreamed of entering the folk music scene, and they chose to compromise with the market, being younger and more commercial, and they succeeded, he still didn't. He envies, but refuses to be them.

Levane made a desperate trip to Chicago in the hope of finding his Bole, but failed. When he returned, he chose to become a crew member, giving up his dream, but after losing a lot of cash because his sister had lost his crew card, he returned to the gaslighting bar.

He was spinning, he was always spinning in place, struggling to survive, struggling, struggling, but he couldn't find an exit, so, after going around in a circle, he still returned to the folk song again.

Why are Levien's ballads always bitter? Because that's his life.

Understanding and entering Levine's dilemma is not easy for the actors, but it is not the core problem, and the real difficulty lies in the conflicts and waves brought about by these dramatic turns, which change Levien's mentality little by little.

If there is no change, the characters will become numb and stupid, there will be no waves and no ups and downs, just a flat straight line, and all the dramatization of the story will disappear into the performance, and the audience will naturally not be able to calm down and savor it. Especially when the Coen brothers intercepted a clip of the era that went around in circles, and after the lack of performance changes, it was easy to lose the audience's patience.

When the end came, nothing seemed to have changed, but Levine was different after all.

Lan Li couldn't help but start thinking about whether Oscar Isaac's performance lacked layers and changes in the previous life, which lost more delicate texture, but the memory in his mind was a little blurred, and now looking back again, "Drunken Country Ballads" still left more flashy clips and concepts, but the details were completely lost.

In a sense, this says part of the story. Oscar Isaac's performance is undoubtedly excellent, and Lan Li personally likes it very much, but it lacks aftertaste and depth, and the tail is insufficient, which affects the extension of the character and the aftertaste of the story.

In the absence of crutches, how should the character of Levine be presented? More precisely, how should Levian's struggle in just seven days under the wave of folk songs be presented? Although one week is not enough time to make Levian's personal state and mentality change dramatically, how should those sporadic ripples be presented and excavated?

Lan Li needed time and space to break away from the Ryan Stone story and into the world of Levine Davis, but alas, this is exactly what he lacks the most right now.

Undoubtedly, this is an interesting script and an interesting character.

On the surface, the performance doesn't seem too challenging, after all, the story doesn't discuss any human nature, nor does it discuss any philosophy, at least compared to the depth of "gravity", "Drunken Country Ballad" seems to be a refreshing vanilla ice cream, not too difficult, but after calming down and thinking deeply, you can see the difficulties in it.

Far more difficult than you can imagine.

Because of the lack of time, Lan Li chose an extreme way, and in the past few days, he listened to the soundtrack of "Drunken Country Ballads" over and over again, over and over again.

There is no time to think about the script, there is no time to explore the characters, but to relax little by little, using the music as a bridge, to really listen to the soul and life behind those melodies, and also to really peek into the era and history behind those notes, into the world of folk songs in the sixties, into the world reimagined by the Coen brothers.

If there is enough time, Lan Li is willing to look for real old people and experts, ordinary people who have experienced the tide of that era, sit down and have a long talk, and have an in-depth understanding of the folk trend of the sixties, from history to anecdotes, from rumors to facts, and to learn more about the folk singers of the sixties, those who became famous and those who are not, and find them in the whole trend of the times.

It's a pity that Lan Li didn't have time.

Therefore, Lan Li asked a series of questions in a more direct way, asking the Coen brothers, who are directors and producers, asking the co-actors in the same work, and asking himself, and then waiting for answers, waiting for brainstorming, waiting for ideas to collide, and give him more acting inspiration.

"Levian-Davis is not a symbol, in the tide of the times, he is just a drop of water, insignificant, may be a symbol of a loser, but in the life of Levian Davis, he is more than that, he is the whole world. So, how did the changes and turmoil in this world take place and how are they presented?"

"Is it music, or is it acting, is it through the camera and the foreshadowing of the plot? especially at the beginning and the end, Levien performs the same piece, is there a difference between the two performances, is there a difference in the arrangement? or is there a difference in the way of interpretation?"

Entering the world of performance, Lan Li is still the same Lan Li, but no longer the Lan Li, the focused gaze is even mixed with a hint of aggressive sharpness, and the steady voice reveals more deep meaning in the simple words, which easily triggers a series of chain thoughts.

Slowly, those intricate and meaningful eyes gradually converged, and fell on Lan Li and the Coen brothers with concentration and heat, and the disturbing chaotic thoughts slowly disappeared, and with Lan Li's words began to enter the world of "drunken country ballads", and unconsciously, the noise calmed down.

In the face of Lan Li's question, Joel fell into his own thoughts, and instead of answering immediately, Ethan cut to the topic, "Oh, how do you say it? I thought that acting and music were one and the same and inseparable from each other. ”

"Ha, I'm sorry. Lan Li chuckled, "That's true, I don't think I made it clear. He thought about it for a moment and further explained, "In my opinion, every song in the soundtrack can find a corresponding archetype character in history, and they are closely integrated with the creator. ”

In other words, the song is created in what environment, under what background, by whom, and what kind of tide of the times it represents, and how it is developing, which complements the whole story, they are no longer simple songs, but the epitome of the background of the entire era, and also the portrayal of each character. ”

Lan Li still sat indifferently on the chair, but there was a look of concentration in those eyes, completely ignoring all the sights and eyes around him, and the whole world was left with him and the director to brainstorm, and only he was left to have a soul dialogue with the script and the character.

This also means that each song is given a different narrative meaning, it tells a story, it is also a character, and furthermore, the singer is definitely not just singing in the process of performing the song. So, my question is, does that mean that the re-creation and re-arrangement of the songs, and the re-interpretation of the singers, should be adjusted accordingly? ”

"If that's the case, then the style of the song will be very different, and the way it will be performed will be very different, and furthermore, the way it will be performed live. I remember, you mentioned earlier that all the tracks will be performed on set, not in the studio, right?"

In the end, Lan Li's gaze fell on Joel's body, and he officially responded to Joel's question just now.

Everyone fell silent and fell into their own thoughts. This is a very abstract concept, and it can be seen that Lan Li is not talking nonsense, but has seriously thought about it, and he thinks more deeply, more mysteriously, and more comprehensively than most people.

I can't help but think of rumors in the industry, Lan Li is an actor, Lan Li is a singer, Lan Li is a music creator, before the name "Lan Li-Hall", many titles can be added, this is what Vanity Fair is best at, but in the final analysis, Lan Li is an artist. At the very least, he is exploring as an artist.

For music, performance, and creation, Lan Li has his own interpretation and interpretation, and opens up different possibilities, discussing with the director, screenwriter, and co-actors, hoping to inject more energy into the performance process, all of which makes him collide with the story and characters of "Drunken Country Ballads" with endless sparks.

People thought that Lan Li was distracted and didn't listen carefully to the director's narration at all, but in fact, those who listened carefully were not using their brains at all, just passively receiving information, while Lan Li, who seemed to be distracted, was savoring the director's words and extended more possibilities.

So, who is the dedicated one?

Ironically, at this time, no one cared about the uneasy figures next to them—only they were still wandering, while the others had already followed Lan Li's words into the exploration of thought. This is especially true of the Coen brothers.

In just a few days, just through the master tape of the soundtrack, Lan Li has already constructed the entire folk world of the sixties in his mind, as well as the character of Levine Davis, but the time is still too short, his concepts and ideas are not comprehensive enough, he needs to communicate with the Coen brothers, and he also needs the understanding and opinions of other actors.

Joel and Ethan exchanged glances, looking excited, and they had to rejoice that they had found Lan Li.