Holding the coffee cup quietly, the bitter aroma slowly accumulated, and the warmth in the eyes quietly disappeared into the lazy mist, and finally turned into a satisfied smile on the corner of his mouth.

According to common sense, the article is over, there is a beginning and an end, and the core idea of the theme runs through the same breath, and there is no need to add or subtract. But after a pause and a moment of serious thought, Michael put his coffee cup down, put his hands on the keyboard again, and decided to add a paragraph.

Even though it may undermine the integrity of the article.

In this production, the Coen brothers chose Ranley Hall to play Levian David. Undoubtedly, it is the perfect choice.

There's such a shot in the movie.

Levien quietly watched the performance on the stage, accompanied by the melodious melody, the corners of his mouth involuntarily outlined a shallow arc, the focus in his pupils slowly dissipated, and after removing his guard, he revealed a trace of admiration and expression, which was fleeting but as hot as fire;

In the blink of an eye, the eyelids drooped, but all emotions were concealed.

It is such a brief shot that clearly and delicately tells the secret of Levien's heart: the three people performing on the stage, one is his friend, one is his friend's wife, and the other is a folk singer he just met last night. He admires his friend's wife, is jealous of the folk singer, and despises his friend.

Those complex and profound emotions, all of which are hidden in a single glimpse of the camera.

Delicate and rich, intricate and restrained performance, Hall gave Levine a fresh and real soul, the light of his body in the eye waves shone on the whole big screen, and all the weight of the whole movie fell on Hall's shoulders, but he once again succeeded in handing in a perfect answer.

What's more, Hall delivers some of the most exciting and moving live performances in the 21st century, the fusion of folk songs and characters, the fit of singing and story, the interweaving of emotions and cores, all of which are so moving and soulful, like a beautiful dream that makes people refuse to wake up.

As incredible as it may be, this is undoubtedly the best performance of Hall's career!

Although it may be a bit bizarre, this is undoubtedly the best work of the Coen brothers' career!

At the beginning and end of the movie, a light, a chair, a guitar, that's all there is to the stage, and Levien hums softly, 'Hang me, oh, hang me, I'm going to die soon.'" I don't care about hanging, but alas, I don't want to be trapped in a grave forever, I've traveled all over the world. ’

Perhaps, this is the best look of the movie. ”

drew the last period, Michael was stunned in place, always feeling that there was still something to be said in his mind, but after thinking about it, he finally chose to give up, his mind was still deeply immersed in the movie picture of "Drunken Country Ballads", unable to extricate himself, and his stamina was really too strong.

After shaking his head for a moment, he made up his rating:

Four stars.

The scoring system of the three major European film festivals is consistent, with a four-star system out of four, in other words, Michael's evaluation is a perfect score.

Michael knew he wasn't sane enough.

He should remain relatively objective and give more neutral comments, but the fact is that the work of film critics and the feelings of watching movies are inherently a subjective act, and likes and dislikes, praise and criticism, after all, still come from the inner preferences of every film critic.

What's more, such a long-lost enthusiasm and impulsiveness, this is the essence of the movie, isn't it?

After determining the final score, Michael picked up his coffee cup, slowly began to enjoy it, and re-read the manuscript and proofread it himself, but the melodious ballad and bitter coffee in his ears were really a bit out of place, and he should have changed the bottle of beer.

Meanwhile, Sean Levy, a film critic for Empire magazine, has just finished his manuscript and is proofreading. He chose a bar to write the manuscript and had a bottle of beer at hand, but the noise in his ears was really annoying, but fortunately, the manuscript was completed in one go.

"It was a long and magnificent farewell. ”

Next to the title, Sean's rating is prominently marked, four stars.

This means that this is also a perfect score manuscript, and it is also a manuscript from a professional press.

"It's always interesting to watch the Coen brothers' work, the black humor hidden behind the camera, often a mockery and banter of society, life, and phenomena, and their camera trajectories, use of light and shadow, and editing can give the film a unique texture, and this time, they succeeded again, dedicating a moving and sad work.

But this time, I think it's a movie that belongs to Ranley Hall.

The film tells the story of a down-and-out folk singer in Greenwich Village in 1961. He's not Bob Dylan, though, it's Dave Van Lunk.

Who is Dave Van Lunk?

That's right. When this doubt arises in the mind, there is no need to doubt it, then it means that the understanding is correct, and the meaning conveyed by the Coen brothers has also reached the audience's mind accurately. Because Dave Van Lunk is a little person that no one knows, just like Levien Davis, the hero of the story.

It's a story full of possibilities, chronicling Levien's life in less than a week, going back and forth in Greenwich Village, wasting all his physical strength and energy in the midst of one broken and trivial matter, and finally returning to square one.

About folk songs, about life, about dreams, about art, about the times, about success, about perseverance, about choices...... I believe that every viewer can find their own answer in the story, but for me, this is a story about goodbye, a long goodbye.

Say goodbye to family affection. Say goodbye to love. Say goodbye to friendship.

Say goodbye to dreams. Also, farewell ballads.

The film tells the story of Levien's short week of trying to realize his dream of being a folk singer, rushing left and right, making countless attempts, but ultimately failing. The specific storyline is still left to the audience to experience in the cinema, but behind the story, it is more of Levien's farewell to himself, and Levien's reconciliation with himself.

He tried to become an artist, an artist who uses singing to tell stories, uses performances to move audiences, and uses art to refine life, and uses his talent to gain a foothold in this wave of folk songs and win his own place.

For this unrealistic dream, he waved goodbye to his family, he gave up love, and crawled in the ice and snow, which was not an easy task, and the only companion was his former partner, but in the endless darkness, the partner was still unable to persevere, and resolutely cut off all ties in the way of saying goodbye to the world, leaving him to wander alone.

He's persevering, he's working hard, he's fighting.

But the winter of Greenwich never saw the end, like a beast trapped in a cage, rushing left and right to hit his head and break the bloodstream, but after all, he still could not find the exit, standing in the same place in a daze, alone;

Under the lens of the Coen brothers, Lance-Hall's performance is like a melodious ballad or a moving poem, with gentle and tenacious, delicate and profound eyes, through the constraints of the big screen, projected on every audience's side, as if you can really see a folk singer living in Greenwich Village in the sixties, wearing thin autumn clothes, walking through the streets and alleys of the cold winter.

The song 'waving goodbye' appears at the beginning, middle and end of the movie.

In the beginning, it is the joint performance of Levien and his partner, in the middle, it is the unveiling of Levien's inner wound, and finally, it is Levien singing alone.

Perhaps, he will choose to leave Greenwich Village and go to sea, become a qualified crew member, and never return, or perhaps, he will continue to stay in the Gaslight Cafe, and for a while he will not be on the stage, and it will become a legend here for a long time.

Perhaps, in the end, he will finally let himself go and choose to say goodbye, farewell to family affection, farewell to love, and even more, farewell to dreams and freedom, farewell to folk songs.

Then, reconcile with yourself.

It was a long and magnificent farewell that seemed to never see an end. But, that's life. All of them are hidden in Hall's unobtrusive performance, which is intoxicating.

As soon as I close my eyes again, I will go back to the gaslight café and look at the down-and-out singer under the lights, singing, 'If I could spread my wings like Noah's dove, I would cross the river in search of my beloved.'" Wave goodbye, my love, and cherish it. ’

At the end of the day, it's a story about life choices.

Once again, Ranley Hall managed to make a breakthrough and deliver the most exciting performance of his career, and the natural combination of the script and the off-camera story even surpassed the Coen brothers' strong control, becoming the highlight of the whole movie.

When the movie is over, sitting quietly in the dark, those stamina and afterglow begin to surge, about this movie, about this character, about this life, all the thinking has just begun. Needless to say, this is the best work since the beginning of 2013, and the best performance to date.

At the end of the film, Levine stumbles down a dimly lit alley, his story slowly narrated in his bright eyes. He said, goodbye. ”