Inside Llewyn Davis

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), written and directed by the Coen Brothers, focuses on the New York Greenwich Village coffeehouse folk music environment of the early 1960’s. The title is borrowed from an album by a folk singer of that time, Inside Dave Van Ronk. But this film is not just an homage to that time period. The Coens like to take a topic or genre and put their own imaginative stamp on it. This movie is a sort of mock epic that deals with an antihero looking for a home that is in the past, and so he is alienated from the present and ill-equipped to venture into the future. As Adam Nayman says in his book, The Coen Brothers (with the subtitle - This Book Really Ties the Films Together - humorously alluding to the Dude’s carpet in the Coens’ The Big Lebowski), this work contains “complex observations about ambition, artistry, and aloneness,” and the main character’s “various failures as a friend, lover, and performer.” We can have admiration for Davis’s talent and respect for the purity of his music, and even his disdain for those in the world that have desecrated art solely for commercial gain. But we also judge him for his selfishness and animosity towards others.

The story begins at the Gaslight Cafe in 1961. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac, in a breakout acting role, who is a good singer and guitar player, too) strums his guitar and sings the old folk song “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me.” It is about a man who is sentenced to death, but because Davis sings it, the words take on significance as they relate to his character. The words “Poor boy” repeat often and it talks about traveling “around this world.” It mirrors Davis’s self-pitying concerning his failures and his journey to find the right place for him. But he is never satisfied, so he keeps wandering. The song’s subject has resigned himself to death, an escape from a cruel world, but even that does not give him solace because he can’t abide the thought of being stagnant in the grave for so long. So, he can’t rest in peace, which seems to be Davis’s destiny. After the applause he says they must have heard the song before, and adds “If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it’s a folk song.” That line sums up Davis’s outlook, which is that the classic songs are timeless, but it also doesn’t leave room for invention.

We find out from a short conversation between Davis and the club owner, Pappi (Max Casella) that Davis had a partner, Mike, which we later discover committed suicide. Pappi tells him there is a “friend” outside asking for him. The man, mostly in the shadows, beats Davis up for heckling his wife during her performance. Davis is a smart-ass even as he is hit by the man, which shows his self-destructive tendencies. It also hints at his elitist attitude about folk music which leads to his scornful behavior toward others who do not meet Davis’s standards. The title of the film sounds like a journalistic expose, but it also suggests that Davis lives “inside” himself, with no real connection with others.

Before he leaves the apartment, Davis plays a track from an album entitled “If We Had Wings,” which he made with Mike which shows aspirations, a desire to reach elevated goals, that, in the duo’s case, weren’t achieved (a possible reference to the Greek myth about Icarus?). There is a shot of the cat that belongs to Mitch (Ethan Phillips) and Lillian Gorfein (Robin Bartlett). Davis has slept at their apartment. We find out much later that the cat’s name is Ulysses, so we have the connection to Homer’s epic (which the Coens also reference as their source for O Brother, Where Art Thou, another mock epic tale). The cat jumps onto Davis and stares at him, and in a way, they are symbolically the same in this story. Ulysses gets locked out of the apartment after he escapes when Davis leaves and the door locks behind them. Like the Greek hero, they are both travelers, trying to find their homes. In fact when Davis leaves a message for Mitch, he says “Llewyn has the cat,” but the woman on the other end of the phone call believes he said, “Llewyn is the cat.” Davis even looks furry, with shaggy hair, beard and mustache. The Coens have said that dogs want to please others, while cats mainly want to please themselves (a generalization with exceptions, since I had a loving cat as a companion), but their statement solidifies Davis as a loner.

Davis finds the cat and takes Ulysses with him to the apartment of Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean (Carey Mulligan). (“Jim and Jean” were the names of an actual folk music duo). They are not home, but Davis knows the super, Nunzio (Ricardo Cordero), who lets him enter their apartment through a fire escape window. So Davis enters with, and like, a cat, climbing into the place. He visits old Mel (Jerry Grayson), his manager, and Mel’s assistant, old Ginny (Sylvia Kauders). It figures that they are elderly, because Davis gravitates toward what is old as he lives in the musical past. He says he didn’t get an advance on his solo album, and needs some royalties, since he has no place to live and doesn't even have a winter coat. He wasn’t successful as a duo with Mike, and he isn’t selling any albums on his own. Mel offers his coat, which Davis rightly guesses is just a “bluff” offer, but when he tries to take the coat, Mel reluctantly offers him forty dollars, which shows how these people are on the fringes of earning a living.

Davis goes back to the apartment where an upset Jean questions him about the cat and is not thrilled with his wanting to stay there for the night. Troy Nelson (Stark Sands) is also there. He is wearing an Army outfit but is staying that night at Jean’s place because he is doing a gig at the Gaslight (he is modeled after folk singer Tom Paxton). His speech is very deliberate, as he pronounces each word distinctly. He is also very accommodating and nice (which is the opposite of Davis), saying that he knows of Davis’s music and has heard good things about him, which Davis rightly doubts. Jean hands Davis a slip of paper that informs him that she is pregnant. They are not the best at communicating orally.

As Troy performs at the club, Jim joins Davis and kisses Jean, showing that he has replaced Davis as her lover. Davis asks Jim what he thinks of Troy, and Jim says he is a wonderful artist. Davis is unconvinced and offers the question, “Does he have a higher purpose?” implying Troy needs to have those “wings,” noted in his album with Mike, to soar as an artist. Davis asks Jim to loan him some money for an abortion because he impregnated another woman (apparently the cat-like Davis may be getting women pregnant as he jumps from one place to another). Davis doesn’t want Jean to know, but Jim says that he can’t get the money without her knowing about it. Davis’s selfish nature uses women for his gratification and then can’t meet his responsibilities as a parent or lover, and has the audacity to ask for abortion money for another woman from the man whose partner he may also have impregnated. 

Davis’s narcissism assumes that Troy is asking him to perform at the end of his solo set, but it is the duo of Jim and Jean he invites to come up on stage. The three of them sing “Five Hundred Miles,” which talks about being far “away from home,” and the audience joins in with the chorus, surprising Davis. It’s as if they are all commenting on Davis’s state of living in temporal and physical exile. In fact Jean looks right at Davis who realizes that the song seems to say that he can’t return to what was between them. But, the crowd singing along also shows people connecting with the performers, something Davis has not been able to establish. 

The next morning Troy is up early, in his Army fatigues, eating cereal. Davis had been relegated to sleeping on the floor, representative of his station in life. Davis asks Troy sarcastically if he is next going to “plug” himself in, like a robot, and follow the commands of his superiors. But Troy is not interested in being a “killing machine,” which is what Davis stereotypes him to be. Troy says he doesn’t even like war toys, and only admires the discipline of the Army. He also has no interest in making a career out of the military. Troy surprises Davis by saying that when his hitch is over the record producer Bud Grossman is interested in representing him, who he describes as a “wonderful” man who is “supportive.” From Davis’s perspective, which is the one we are placed in, people do seem a bit lame in their comments and indiscriminate in their praise. Davis is also envious because he had Mel send his latest recording to Grossman and there hasn’t been any response.

Davis is a careless person who makes mistakes and then tries to clean up his messes without much success. Here he opens the apartment window and allows Ulysses to escape. He runs after him but the cat is gone, which metaphorically means that Davis is also lost in trying to find direction in his life. On a walk with Jean she cements this view of Davis when she angrily says, “everything turns to shit,” that he touches, “like King Midas’s idiot brother.” She is not sure who the father of her child would be, so she has decided to get an abortion because she does not want to have Davis’s baby, and only wants one with Jim. She makes Davis promise to arrange and pay for the procedure. She says he should do all women a favor and wrap himself in condoms and duct tape. He does make a point when he says, “it takes two to tango,” but she is not willing to take any responsibility here. He wants her to leave her window open in case the cat comes back, which she says makes little sense since Ulysses hasn’t lived at her place. Davis says he really feels badly about losing the cat, and she indicates the misalignment of his priorities when she says, “That's what you feel bad about?”

Davis has to keep moving on as he is not welcome anywhere. Now he goes to his sister, Joy (Jeanine Serralles). He selfishly asks about money from the sale of his parents’ home which is meant for them, not him. She suggests that he could rejoin the Merchant Marines, which to him is only “existing.” Joy is upset that he lumps his relatives’ lives in the “just existing” category, which means they are inferior to him. (As to being in the Merchant Marines, being “at sea” usually means someone is lost, and living on a ship is just another way of wandering in the absence of a fixed home in which to reside). He demonstrates his bitterness about his lack of success when he sarcastically says he can’t hang around because the Ed Sullivan Show wants him back for rehearsals and a “champagne reception.” Even though he relishes the classic songs of the past, Davis does not want the box of stuff Joy retrieved from their childhood home. He says that his early recording of a song should not be exposed because it would ruin his “mystique” as a folk artist. He seems to still have aspirations about his career, even though it seems to be dead in the water.

Davis lies to the kind Mitch, saying the cat is at Jim and Jean’s place and he’ll bring it back. Mitch says that Jim has a recording gig for him. Davis goes to the studio and Jim introduces him to Al Cody (Adam Driver in an early role). They are to be the John Glenn Singers, doing a novelty song, “Please, Mr. Kennedy,” about being sent into outer space. It is a silly, commercially oriented recording, well below Davis’s standards, and he is taken aback that Jim wrote this bit of fluff. But Davis needs the cash. The song humorously protests being forced to “blast - off” in a spaceship, but even here we have the theme of traveling or escaping. Davis singing the words gives voice to his plight of being condemned to constantly wander.

The homeless Davis receives his mail at Mel’s, but nobody is sending him any, as Ginny tells him, emphasizing his alienation. Mel and she were cleaning out stuff, and Ginny gives Davis a box filled with copies of his album with Mike. Davis carries it around with him, like an anchor weighing him down to his past failures. He now moves to another couch to sleep on, which is at Cody’s place (or as Jean asks later, “Who won the lottery tonight?”). He finds a similar box at the apartment, only it contains Cody’s album. It appears that less than successful artists have numerous copies of unsold works. 

Jean brings him the small amount of stuff he left at her place. It’s as if everyone he has been associated with is getting rid of his belongings as they attempt to evict him from their lives. She asks him if he even thinks about the future, which is so difficult for him to deal with personally that he asks if she means “flying cars? Hotels on the moon?” He is elitist when he says it’s “careerist,” and it’s “square,” (uncool), and “a little sad” to try to use music as a “blueprint” to plan the future. She tells him “you don’t want to go anywhere. And that’s why all the same shit is gonna keep happening to you, because you want it to.” Her description nails his inability to move forward in his life, and it points to how his snobbish rejection of other artists makes him a masochist as he wallows in his self-imposed misery, which is more than “a little sad.” 

He runs off during their discussion because he sees a cat that looks like Ulysses, and he grabs the animal. He goes to Cody’s place with “Ulysses,” and Cody tells him that there are musicians who are going to Chicago and will give him a ride if he shares paying for gas. Davis doesn’t have any plans to leave New York, but then again, producer Bud Grossman is in Chicago. 

Davis finds out from the doctor (Steve Routman) that he doesn’t owe him any money for Jean’s abortion because another woman he had sex with, Diane, did not terminate her pregnancy. She never told him, and the doctor couldn’t reach Davis to give him a refund since Davis has no permanent address or phone. Davis did not consider that his actions may have consequences beyond his scope, and he has a child out there, and his only knowledge of the offspring is that he is about two years old.

Davis brings the cat to the Gorfeins’ place, and Mitch invites him to dinner. Marty Green (Alex Karpovsky) and Janet Fung (Helen Hong) are also there. There is some upper-class intellectual condescending turning of the tables here as Marty calls Davis “Mitch and Lillian’s folk song friend.” Joe Flom (Bradley Mott) is also among the guests. He is a classical keyboardist, who also teaches piano, which adds to the snobbish feel of the room. Feeling a sense of belittlement, Davis jokingly asks if they have heard of the piano teacher who taught him when he was young, but the overly serious Flom doesn’t get the joke. Lillian asks him to play a song, and Davis’s first response is an ungracious complaint that he’s not a “trained poodle.” But she says that she asked because “singing was a joyous expression of the soul.” But there doesn't seem to be much joy in anything that Davis does. He takes Mitch’s guitar and begins to perform “Five Hundred Miles,” which is a song he sang with Mike. The feelings of hurt surrounding the loss of his partner is evident as Davis becomes angry when Lillian starts to harmonize with him. He lashes out saying he sings for a living, not as part of some “parlor” entertainment. (Nayman points out the “tension between the Platonic idealism” of Lillian’s words about music and Davis’s “bottom-line rejoinder that its main function” is to pay the bills). Davis yells that he wouldn’t ask Mitch to present a history lecture if Davis invited him to dinner (which of course Davis never does, not having money or a place to serve the meal). The upset Lillian runs out, but returns, saying the cat he brought to them isn’t Ulysses. It’s not even a male. She screams at Davis, “Where’s it’s scrotum?” Since the cat has been identified with Davis, the film is metaphorically accusing Davis of acting like a psychologically emasculated man, despite being able to get women pregnant physically.

Davis takes the symbolically castrated feline version of Ulysses with him, and hits the road again when he rides with the two men that Cody mentioned to Chicago. One is the almost wordless young Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund), Cody’s friend, and the other is the overly talkative musician Roland Turner (John Goodman), looking like he is one of the Walking Dead, needing two canes to navigate. Turner can out-sarcasm Davis. He is pompous and condescending to the extreme (a look at where Davis is headed?). Davis tells Turner that the name Llewyn is Welsh, and Turner says that he once had Welsh Rarebit that made him severely ill, and wondered if everything from Wales has the same effect. Turner asks about the cat, and Davis says it isn’t his, he just didn’t know what to do with it. Turner savagely comments “did you bring your dick with you, too.” It is a funny line, but also echoes the inference of Davis’s impotence as a worthy man. 

Davis plays his guitar and sings in the car. Turner is asleep in the back and Johnny looks like he just wants Davis to shut up. So these two are the only captive audience he has at the moment, which isn’t saying much. While Davis drives, Turner talks about how the jazz he plays is so much more sophisticated than folk music. When he finds out that Davis’s partner, Mike, killed himself by jumping off of the George Washington Bridge, Turner is nasty about the kind of music they played as he says he can’t blame him for killing himself if he had to sing “Jimmy Crack Corn” every night. Davis can’t take the abuse any longer and asks if one of the canes will go all the way up Turner’s “ass,’ or will some of it stick out. Turner just spouts harmless threats about how badly he could hurt Davis if he wanted to. Davis asks for a cigarette from Johnny, who says he’s out, but then lights one up along the way. What a joy ride. 

When Johnny finally does talk a little, he recites enigmatic poetry and comments about a play he was in getting closed by the police. We feel some sympathy for him because he’s another damaged, failed artist. In a bathroom at a rest stop, Davis reads some graffiti that asks the pertinent question, not only for him, but for all of us, “What are you doing?” Davis doesn’t look like he has a clue, but then again, the movie may be asking, who does? In another stall, Turner overdoses on heroin, but Johnny says he’ll be okay, which doesn’t sound reassuring. The two men load Turner in the car and drive off. 

They snooze in the car, but a cop stops and says they can’t sleep on the side of the road. Johnny is belligerent and resists the policeman when he asks him to step out of the car. The cop handcuffs Johnny and drives him away. Davis does what he has done in the past. He leaves. Turner is passed out in the back of the car and most likely needs medical attention. Davis looks at the cat who stares back at him, as if wondering if Davis will take her along. He selfishly closes the door on the animal, and in a way slams it shut on himself in terms of a chance at redemption. 

Davis continues his odyssey alone, which fits his antisocial personality, to Chicago and the Gate of Horn theater to find Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham). The character is based on Albert Grossman, who helped folk singers become popular. For the purposes of the movie the name Grossman fits in well since it suggests how much money he can “gross” from the music of others. Nayman points out that the name of his club, which is what the real venue was actually called, appropriately fits in with the movie, since it refers to Homer’s The Odyssey. In that epic poem, there were two gates to pass through, one of ivory and one of polished horn. It was a test, and those that were able to pass through the Gate of Horn successfully had something “true” to give to others. 

Grossman says he never received a copy of Davis’s album, which is entitled Inside Llewyn Davis, which suggests revealing the man’s inner soul in songs. We have come to learn, however, that it mirrors the protagonist’s preoccupation with himself and his pursuit of a “higher purpose” that he noted earlier. Grossman asks him to play a song from “inside” him. Typically, Davis plays an old standard, “The Death of Queen Jane.” It is a sad and moving tale of a royal death during childbirth, and is personal, as Nayman points out, since it may suggest that Davis is thinking about the living child and the aborted ones he will never see. But it may also suggest Davis will die before he sees his “children,” that is, his rendition of songs, thrive. Grossman’s cold, capitalistic response is, “I don’t see a lot of money here.” Davis mentions Troy Nelson, and Grossman says he’s good because he connects with people, a quality we know Davis does not possess. Grossman suggests that if Davis stays out of the sun and looks more pale and trims his beard to a goatee, he may fit in with a trio that features two men and a woman, because Davis is not a front man (this could be a reference to the folk legends Peter, Paul, and Mary). Grossman asks if Davis is good with harmonizing. He admits that he once had a partner, and Grossman says he should get back together with him. Of course that is a past that can’t be brought back to the present, which sums up Davis’s life, along with the fact that harmonizing means bonding with another, which Davis has failed to do. 

Davis is on his own once more, hitchhiking in the howling cold of an unforgiving winter. He gets a ride with a young man (Jason Shelton) who he shares the driving with. Davis sees a sign for Akron, Ohio, which is where his son now lives with his mother, Diane. Davis looks like he may stop, but, again, does not make the effort to reach out to another, even if it’s his one child. As it snows, the thumping of the wipers sounds like loud heart beats, menacingly ticking out Davis’s life. It’s dark and the road seems as if it is heading nowhere, also reflecting Davis’s world. A cat that looks like Ulysses crosses the road in front of the car, and Davis slams on the brakes. He sees some blood on the front bumper, and catches a glimpse of a cat behind him limping off the road. He does not try to help the animal. Is it symbolic of his own selfishness which can lead to self-destructiveness? 

Davis decides to give up on his music career and escape back into the Merchant Marines. He visits his father, Hugh (Stan Carp) in a nursing home, and the man seems almost unaware of his son’s presence. As before, there is no appearance of a connection being made. Davis tells him he is shipping out because he wants “to try something new. I mean something old.” These words illustrate his inability to move forward. He sings “The Shoals of Herring,” a lovely song about simple fishermen, which his dad used to like. But, the scene is similar to the one where Davis auditioned for Grossman. It looks as if he has touched his father emotionally by the look on the old man’s face. Instead, we learn he was defecating in his pants. Nayman says the responses of Grossman and the father are “figurative blows to Llewyn’s ego.” 

Davis, like many of the Coens’ characters, suffers existential angst, questioning the point of existence. As Kent Jones says in his essay, “The Sound of Music,” Davis is trying to figure out where he fits in. Jones says that because Mike killed himself, Davis is asking since, “I was once one of two, am I now a half or a whole?” When he returns to his sister’s place, he voices his frustration that what life has to offer in the end is the humiliation that his father now experiences, helplessly soiling himself. 

Davis needs his sailing licenses to ship out, but he again was being irresponsible as he did not want the box that Joy offered him that contained his stuff, including his record albums and the license, which she threw away. Jean allows him to dump his other belongings at her apartment so he doesn’t have to lug them around. She says that he can play a gig at the Gaslight Cafe and make a little cash. He says he is done with performing, but he shows some gratitude for a change, thanking her for trying to help him. He then says he loves her, which is a big gesture on his part, but she isn’t buying it, given who he is, and says, “Come on.” 

He doesn’t have the cash to apply for new licenses. So he decides to play the Gaslight for the money. He goes to the club the night before his gig. There is an Irish quartet singing, and when the owner, Pappi, asks if he likes them, Davis is dismissive as usual, saying he likes their “sweaters.” The crude Pappi isn’t really a lover of folk music as an art form, and wonders if it will pay the rent much longer. He says the audience comes to see Jim and Jean because they want to have sex with them. He then admits that he had sex with Jean, and almost brags that he coerces young female performers to have sex with him if they want to perform at the club. The next act is an older woman named Elizabeth Hobby (Nancy Blake) who actually represents the authenticity that Davis admires. But Davis is drunk and angry at Pappi’s confession, and he ironically mercilessly heckles the genuine Elizabeth. He is thrown out, saying how he hates folk music, which is like admitting he hates himself for striving for that purity he seeks that has become a daunting quest.

The feeling of repetition is evident in Davis’s life as he calls Mitch to stay at the Gorfeins’ place once more for a couple of nights. Mitch again welcomes Davis in, saying his wife is making something to eat, as he did before, and there are dinner guests, as usual. And, Davis is identified, as before, as the folksinger friend. There is talk about the goofy song, “Please, Mr. Kennedy” becoming a hit, but Davis’s artistic dismissal of the song and his need for cash because he is not commercially viable, caused him to take upfront money in lieu of royalties. Another self-imposed missed opportunity. Both Mitch and his wife, Lillian, are forgiving of Davis’s prior nasty outburst, understanding about the loss of Mike. The cat appears, and they tell him that he returned home. The feline Ulysses at least found his way home, as did Homer’s hero. The next morning duplicates the earlier one with Ulysses waking up Davis by sitting on his chest. This time when Davis leaves he makes sure that the cat does not escape. He is at least able to keep Ulysses, if not himself, from straying from the place where he belongs. (To drive home the theme of trying to return home, Davis walks by a movie theater that has the poster for The Incredible Journey, a movie about animals trying to get back home).

What Jean said earlier about “the same shit is gonna keep happening” to Davis comes true in an almost surrealistic manner. Davis is back at the Gaslight Cafe, singing “Hang Me, Oh Hang Me,” as he did at the beginning of the movie. He even says the same line about folk songs being old but timeless. He then performs the song “If I Had Wings” which was the title track of his album with Mike. It contains the line “fare thee well” in it, like other old folk songs during the film. But he must do it solo now, which adds a raw, sad quality to it, stressing his isolation and unrealized lofty dream of gaining success as a folksinger. 

As with the Gorfeins, Pappi is forgiving of Davis’s drunken heckling of the night before. He says Davis has a friend outside asking for him. Deja vu, right? But this time, before he goes into the alley, a new folksinger is on stage. We hear Bob Dylan using the “fare thee well” line but incorporating it into the new song, “Farewell.” Unlike Davis, Dylan was able to use the old form of the folk song and create something totally new, showing the ability to move beyond the past into the here and now and pave the way on the road to the future.

Behind the club is yet another man in the shadows who is the husband of the woman Davis verbally assaulted the prior night. The exchange is the same as Davis is again sarcastic and he suffers a beating as before. The man says he and his wife are getting out of New York. Nayman notes that when the husband drives off in a cab the man is able to do what Davis can’t, which is to actually go away and start over. The last line of the film which Davis utters is “Au revoir,” which means goodbye, but also “until we meet again.” For Davis, his vicious cycle will keep repeating itself. But the Coens are more like Dylan (who came from Minnesota and is Jewish, like the Coens), as they explore an old place and time, and genre, and transform those elements to fit into their own, new vision. 

The next film is Wild Strawberries.

The African Queen

SPOILER ALERT! The plot will be discussed.

The African Queen (1951), directed by John Huston, is a story that deals with how people who have withdrawn from adversity can subsequently tap into their heroic nature when a crisis occurs. It also shows that people who are so different and would not meet under average circumstances are able to bond when extreme circumstances bring them together. Each person is capable of bringing out hidden aspects that were submerged before meeting adversity.

The story takes place in German East Africa in September, 1914. Missionaries are trying to bring their version of civilization to the inhabitants. The opening upward shot creates a view of the all-encompassing jungle and its majesty. The animal sounds immediately tell us how far this place is from so-called civilized cultures. But the real bestiality does not come from the land. The impending war points to how humans inflict their destruction and barbarity onto the continent. 

Rose (is she a flower ready to blossom?) Sayer (Katharine Hepburn) plays the organ and helps her brother, the Rev. Samuel Sayer (Robert Morley), try to lead the natives in a Christian hymn. The result is a cacophony of noise, stressing the lack of harmony between the two cultures. Another sound intervenes, which is that of the whistle on the decrepit-looking boat, the African Queen, belonging to Charlie Allnut (Humphrey Bogart, in a Best Actor Oscar winning performance). Bogart here is very different compared to the tough man-of-few-words but mostly moral types in other films he acted in. He is overly talkative in this movie. But he initially does not try to stick his neck out and put himself in danger, similar to Rick in Casablanca. His last name may suggest that he is crazy, a tough nut to crack, or he has the “nuts” (balls) that show he, potentially, can be a brave man. Here the sound of his boat easily distracts the African congregation who look baffled by what the white missionaries are trying to foster on them. 

Charlie, dirty, unshaven and smiling, seems at home in the wilderness of the jungle. The natives are familiar with him as he hands one a cigar. The Sayers are dressed as if they are in an urban setting, wearing fancy clothing that is unsuitable for the hot climate and which shows them to be out of place. Charlie has brought them their mail. The differences between these people continue when they sit down for tea, which the Sayers act like they are drinking in a British garden. Charlie’s stomach is growling since it is taking a long time for Rose to properly serve the bread and butter with the tea. He comments on the strange sounds a man’s stomach can make, but the uppity Sayers do not want common bodily functions discussed in front of them. Samuel reads that an acquaintance is now a bishop, and he seems envious. He dismisses the man’s abilities, implying he married well and that is how he was promoted. Samuel’s behavior is not that of an unselfish religious man devoted to loving others. The Sayers do not fit in with their new surroundings, but also are out of touch with what is happening elsewhere. Charlie tells them of the coming war between many European countries, and that each nation blames the other for starting the conflict. Samuel wonders if they will be considered hostile visitors in a German occupied territory, but Charlie tries to reassure them that nobody cares about “this God forsaken place.” This remark riles Rose who says her brother's presence points to God not abandoning this area on earth. Note that she gives all credit to her sibling as she allows herself to be subordinate to his leadership.

After Charlie leaves, Samuel again shows his disdain by calling Charlie a “wretched” man because he is Canadian and doesn’t seem to care about allegiance to their matriarchal country, Britain. Samuel says he can’t leave his “flock,” so he rejects Rose’s suggestion to depart. But he can do little when the Germans arrive and burn the huts of the natives and the wooden church, taking the men to use them as soldiers. Samuel seems to be broken mentally after this brutality, as he doesn’t even seem to realize he is in Africa. He becomes delirious and then collapses.

Charlie comes back because the Africans who were working for him at the Belgium mines heard about the German raids. The mine was abandoned and Charlie’s men ran off. Rose tells Charlie that Samuel died. Charlie says they must bury him and leave, because the Germans will be after his boat because of the supplies it is carrying. Thus, it is just the two of them now who must learn to survive together.

Rose is out of her depth at first when Charlie has her steer the boat so he can tie it up to the shore. She is starting on a new journey, physically and psychologically, and she must adapt without relying on her brother. Charlie says they have food and plenty of cigarettes and booze, the latter two drawing a look of disdain from the upright Rose. She wants to get out of there, but Charlie points out the difficulty of escaping the Germans. He seems to not want to put himself in any danger and wishes to sit it out until the war blows over. Charlie points out that the Germans have a large ship called the Louisa with a huge gun that prevents the Allies from getting across the lake to rescue people like Rose and Charlie. He also informs her that it will be difficult going down the river since the Germans are stationed where it flows into the lake. 

But Rose is seeking a new mission, and her inner strength begins to appear. She finds out that they have blasting equipment, but no detonators. There are also oxygen tanks on board. Since Charlie is sort of a mechanic, Rose says he can make a torpedo out of a tank, hang it over the side of the boat, and cause it to ignite and destroy the Louisa by scraping against its hull while they jump off. Charlie’s easygoing, joking manner turns to one of alarm at the suggestion. She calls into question his patriotism, and pushes him into leaving immediately as she has found an earthly crusade to embark upon. He now feels resentful of the pushy Rose, and mocks her demanding voice. Circumstances have allowed Rose to emerge from under the shadow of her brother’s spiritual crusade. Despite Charlie's reticence, he, as well as Rose, have not stayed in their comfort zones, having come to a place where there are many challenges. Their presence in Africa shows that they have the potential to be courageous and unselfish. 

As they go down the river, Rose is very inquisitive and learns more about the boat and how to “read” the waterway so as to navigate away from dangers. Charlie has to kick the boiler to let the steam out to reduce pressure because a screwdriver fell into it. He hasn’t removed the tool because he likes kicking the engine, which is a way for him to let off steam himself. She is becoming more worldly, so in that sense Charlie is her mentor. However, she does not want to learn about his drinking gin, and is relieved that he is considerate enough to make her tea. He now tries to duplicate the hospitality she showed him at the village. He likes to put a positive spin with a smile and a laugh even when things are negative, such as when he says the tea may taste rusty, but they “can’t have everything, now can we?” This overly courteous behavior seems forced, like he doesn’t want to reveal his own anxiety, or he can possibly be trying to cover up his roughness with a veneer of civility so as to be accepted by Rose. 

She says that she left England and has been in Africa for ten years. She does get nostalgic for her homeland’s peace and quiet on Sunday afternoons. Her genteel memory contrasts with his remark about “sleeping one off” on a Sunday as he recovered from a drinking binge on Saturday night. He says he came to Africa to get employment working on building a bridge. He misses the fun he had on the weekends, but during the week he had to take “orders” from others. He is his own boss in Africa, which shows his independent nature. They both need to wash up, and he says that they can go to opposite ends of the boat and avoid exposing themselves to each other. They both keep on their undergarments, however (this is 1951), and when Rose can’t climb back on board, Charlie must close his eyes as he helps her get on the boat. After falling asleep, it begins to pour. Charlie is drenched and reluctantly tries to get under the overhead covering where Rose is. She kicks him out, but realizes he just wants to avoid the downpour. She then invites him to get out of the rain. She kindly opens her umbrella to protect him from the rain coming in on the side where he sleeps. The scene adds a bit of sexual tension between the characters.

As he navigates through the rapids, there is a smile on his face while she looks alarmed. What he hopes is that she will become frightened and will call off her dangerous mission. But she surprises him by saying how excited she was, almost acting like it was a sensual experience. He is disappointed she isn’t willing to give up. He warns that their trip will get much worse, but she wants to do more steering and looks forward to the thrill. Ruth’s taking over most of the navigation shows her learning to take control of her life. Rose is no longer a wallflower and is becoming the wildflower she really is. 

After Charlie gets drunk, Rose sees that he is no longer polite and upbeat. He drops the pretense of being agreeable and says that her idea to sink the Louisa will not happen. He mocks her civilized speech. She keeps saying they will continue with her campaign, but he refuses. She says that he promised and is a liar and a coward. He reacts angrily, saying it’s his boat, and only invited her onboard out of pity for losing her brother. But her unrealistic demands are met with Charlie nastily saying, “I ain’t sorry for you no more, ya crazy, psalm-singing, skinny old maid!” He then goes off to drink more gin.

Charlie wakes to find Rose pouring all of his gin overboard, and there is a river of bottles floating along the waterway, as he bemoans his loss. Charlie does clean himself up by shaving, which he attributes to being around a woman with “clean habits.” He compliments her countering his procrastination about cleaning up the boat's engine, as he now performs that task. He seems to want to try to get back into her good graces. But she silently ignores him as she reads, and will not even respond when he says he will make her some tea. He appears dejected since she is not reacting to his attempts at being friendly. When she will not read from the bible for him, he becomes angry, questioning her Christian charity. He says it’s only natural for a man to drink a bit, but she counters by saying, “Nature, Mr. Allnut, is what we are put in this world to rise above.” She is espousing the denial of physical temptations which exist as tests to overcome. He apologizes for what he said when he was drunk, but she says that what is really bothering her is going back on his promise to go down the river and attack the Louisa. He says it is just too dangerous, but he can’t stand her silence, so he gives in. But, he sarcastically says he will eat his breakfast, which will be his last one. 

As they get on their way, Charlie sees many crocodiles entering the river and says they’re waiting for their dinner, which he implies will consist of him and Rose. He acts ironically cheerful and says that’s because he “gave myself up for dead back where we started.” They pass by a German fortress and they stay down in the boat for protection. The Germans use the Africans they abducted to help fire on the African Queen. They damage it, but Charlie reconnects a hose to get the boat going again as bullets fly around them, just missing igniting the explosives. But Rose was right that the sun would get in the eyes of the shooters, who can’t finish them off. But they must next confront the rocks they are rushing toward. The boat is slammed by the waves as Charlie keeps trying to keep the engine functioning and Rose holds onto the rudder. They somehow get through, and they are ecstatic, shouting how they survived. They hug each other and the scene ends in a kiss, which surprises them both. Charlie goes to the front of the boat and symbolically feeds the steam engine, its fire mirroring the passion he now feels. 

There follows a suggestive scene where Rose helps with pumping water out of the boat, and Charlie is close behind her, almost hugging her, holding her hand as he shows her how to accomplish the task. As she vigorously pumps the handle, the dreamy look in her eyes implies a desire for intimacy that she longs for. She removes a thorn in his foot following the collection of firewood, and when he touches her shoulder and says some of the local flowers, “sure are pretty,” she knows he is talking about her. They then kiss.

The next day she calls him “Dear,” and wakes him with coffee. He now acts gung ho about blowing up the German ship to please her. She, trying to reciprocate, notes some ‘misgivings,” about the quest. But then she says she is strengthened by his resolve. The look on his face shows he realizes he may have blown the chance to halt the precarious journey they are on. Later, they momentarily laugh together as Charlie imitates hippos and monkeys, showing they can enjoy the jungle they are traveling through, but then the dangers quickly resurface as they approach some treacherous rushing through waterfalls. 

They get through the dangerous stretch but must bail out the boat. He dives under the craft and sees there was damage to the shaft and propeller. Despite the adversity, Rose stays positive and suggests different ways to make repairs, encouraging Charlie to push himself to realize his potential to solve problems. She joins him under the boat to help with the work. They must take off their outer garments which symbolizes their shedding of inhibitions and differences that would keep them apart under usual circumstances, and are able to make the repairs as a team. They are painting themselves as heroes now, like “Antony and Cleopatra,” as they have bolstered each other’s self-esteem.

But things do not remain “Rosie,” as Charlie now calls his companion. They are swarmed by mosquitoes, but they can’t jump into the river because there are crocodiles entering the water. He covers her so she will not get bitten, and he braves the onslaught by pushing the boat away. Charlie suggests that they will be committed to each other as he says they will have stories “to tell our grandchildren.” And there are more stories to tell as they have a difficult time steering the boat through the marshy reeds to stay on track. Even when he becomes frustrated and angry, Rose encourages him. He has to go into the river and pull the boat, so heavy is the burden he has taken on. He comes out covered in leeches, but Rose is smart enough to pour salt on the creatures to get them off. She shows her strength of character by clearing the way with a machete as Charlie continues to pull the craft. But they can’t get the African Queen off the mud, and Charlie is exhausted and shaking. But he says he doesn’t regret one moment of being with her, showing how love has given him his purpose in life. As he sleeps, she resorts to her faith, which has not been shaken, and prays that God welcomes them if it is their time.

 As if her prayers were heard, a storm occurs and the rain unleashes rushing water that frees the boat from the reeds and pushes them into the lake which is their destination. But they see the Louisa heading towards them. They hide in some reeds, this time for protection, and are safe. They then prepare the air tanks by adding the explosives, and Charlie rigs up some bullets to fire and ignite the makeshift torpedo when it rams into the Louisa through a hole in the African Queen’s hull. 

Charlie has Rosie on his shoulders as she raises the British flag on his boat as Charlie has, like Bogart’s Rick, decided that there is something worth fighting for other than one’s own interests. Love means self-sacrifice, so each says they will attack the Louisa alone, trying to protect the other. But, Rose realizes they must remain a team to get the job done. She admits that she doesn’t want to go on without him, now that she has found a rich life here on earth. They decide to attack at night, a dangerous time because of visibility, but the most efficient if they don’t want to be spotted. However, a storm adds to the problem because the boat takes on too much water and it sinks. Charlie loses track of Rose.

The Germans capture Charlie. On the Louisa, under interrogation, Charlie says he was just fishing, but is accused by the First Officer (Theodore Bikel) of spying, and he is sentenced to be hanged. Charlie is despondent since he believes Rose has drowned. But he rejoices when German sailors arrive in a rowboat and bring Rose aboard. She tells the German that they were prepared to sink the Louisa to show their resolve against their captors. She and Charlie tell the Germans proudly that they overcame impossible odds to come down the river which shows what a tough fight the enemy is in for.

There is a shot of the almost submerged African Queen, but part of it is still above water, suggesting that the plan to sink the Louisa is not dead yet. Just before they are to be hanged, Charlie asks The Captain (Peter Bull) to marry them. Rose sees it as a wonderful way to go out. The Captain delivers darkly humorous contrasting lines by saying, “I pronounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution.” But the ship runs over the African Queen, igniting the torpedo, sinking the Louisa. Rose and Charlie jump off and are thrilled that they have completed their mission. Rose no longer needs to be subservient to anyone and Charlie requires the African Queen as his substitute companion. They sing, and their harmony as equal partners replaces the noisy voices at the beginning of the film, as they swim off together in married bliss.

The next film is Inside Llewyn Davis.