Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) User Reviews

Once you let this film sink in, it turns out to be very rewarding

[estebangonzalez10 · 8/10 · 31 January 2014]

"If it was never new, and it never gets old, then it's a folk song."

The Coen brothers have worked together over the past couple of decades delivering some inspiring work. Their films are extremely varied (ranging from dark comedies to westerns or thrillers) and that is why people rank their films so differently according to their own genre preferences. What these films tend to have in common is that they focus on an unfortunate main character (the Coen brothers don't seem to be too interested in successful characters) and they also include a lot of quirky characters. The Coens are also great at writing interesting characters that despite being unpleasant at times still capture our attention, and they also include a lot of dark and sharp humor. Inside Llewyn Davis is one of those films where we are forced to follow an unpleasant guy in the course of a week and somehow hope he recovers and achieves his goal. This is a film that you probably enjoy more when you think about it once it's over or on a rewatch because it's philosophical and sad, but rewarding none the less if you stick through it. It is also open to many readings and interpretations. You can think of this as being an honest film about someone who doesn't achieve his dreams. We've been saturated with so many films that focus on following our dreams and never giving up on them, but it is rare to see a film focusing on someone who doesn't achieve them. Like Llewyn, we sometimes throw away other possibilities for success because we are too blinded on pursuing our own thing. That is exactly what happens here (and in this way it differs from A Serious Man where the main character suffers misfortune from things that he can't control). Llewyn could've listened and taken good advice, but he's so narcissistic and blinded by his own ambition that he misses several good opportunities. Another way you can read this film, and this is the one that worked best for me, is that Llewyn is learning to cope with the loss of his partner. He was a better singer when he wasn't on his own and now that he has lost his partner he doesn't seem to know what to do next. He is a tortured artist struggling to cope with grief. It's as if the Coens were admitting that they wouldn't know how to make films without each other. They inspire one another and that is where their success relies. Perhaps if something would happen to one of them they would feel like Llewyn, lost and unable to move on. This is just brilliant filmmaking and the Coens prove once again that they are on top of their game.

The film takes place in the course of one week as we follow a struggling folk singer named Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaacs) across Greenwich Village in the winter of 1961. He has recently released a solo album that isn't selling. With no money and no apartment, Llewyn spends his days jumping from couch to couch at friends houses while performing small gigs at local Cafes. One of the places he crashes in is at fellow musicians, Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean's (Carey Mulligan) apartment. Llewyn isn't really a guy anyone wants to be around much, but he continues to pursue his dream of becoming a solo artist. In a way he's his own worst enemy as many of the obstacles he faces are his own doing.

I'm not a fan of depressing films, but somehow the Coens captured my attention through their smart script and beautifully constructed film. The gray cinematography is gorgeous and really sets the melancholic tone of the film. Somehow despite not liking Llewyn, Isaacs manages to portray his character so well that we do root for him and want him to succeed. It's an impressive film that succeeds thanks to Isaacs heartfelt performance. We also get to meet some of the quirky characters that the Coens always include in their films. John Goodman and Garrett Hedlund were the chosen ones this time around and they both added the dark humor in this otherwise sad and melancholic film. The soundtrack is also a lot of fun to listen too and Isaacs has a great voice.

Fare Thee Well

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 15 December 2013]

Greetings again from the darkness. If you are a follower of the filmmaking Coen Brothers, then you are quite aware of their complete lack of artistic interest in any traditionally successful character. Their work is inspired by life's obstacles and tough luck, even if brought on by a character's own poor judgment. Coen Brother stories revolve around those who carry on and have (blind?) faith that their approach, no matter how ill conceived, is the only option ... the only path worth taking. Their main character this time out seems to think life is filled with only careerists (sell-outs) or losers (those who can't get a break). The titular Llewyn Davis (played by Oscar Isaac) is introduced to us onstage at the Gaslight singing a beautiful folk song. Moments later he is lying in the back alley after taking a whipping from a mysterious stranger. It's not until this scene is repeated again at the film's end do we understand the cause of this effect. See, Llewyn is not a very likable guy. We learn he is still grieving from the suicide of his musical partner (as sung by Marcus Mumford), and that he bounces from sofa to sofa amongst acquaintances and family members. Llewyn has no friends, only acquaintances too kind to throw him out ... even if he might be the father of an unwanted baby, or if he accidentally allows a beloved pet cat to escape. The story is based in the folk music scene of 1961 Greenwich Village in the pre-Bob Dylan days. The Coen's were inspired by the memoirs of Dave Van Ronk entitled "The Mayor of MacDougal Street". So while the songs are real and the characters are often inspired or based upon real artists of the time, Llewyn's story is pure Coen fiction. That means cringing, levels of discomfort, uneasy chuckling and moments of rapture ... such as John Goodman evoking a drugged out Doc Promus spewing harsh poetic diatribes. We never really know if the Coens are making a statement or tossing it out for us to debate. Are they saying that even the ugliness of Llewyn's personality can produce something as beautiful as music, or are they saying that we get tricked by beautiful music into thinking that the artist must also be pure? Carey Mulligan (as Jean) has one of the film's best and most insightful lines when she tells Llewyn he is "King Midas' idiot brother". Her pure disgust (and expert rendering of the F-word) and anger contrasts with her angelic onstage persona with husband Jim (Justin Timberlake). As always, the Coens provide us a constant flow of interesting and oddball characters. In addition to Goodman's jazz hipster, we get Garrett Hedlund as an ultra cool (til he's not) valet, Adam Driver as a cowboy folk singer, Troy Nelson as a virtuous Army folk singer (based on Tom Paxton), and Llewyn's Upper East side cat owners, his spunky sister, and best of all F Murray Abraham as Bud Grossman, the owner of Chicago's Gate of Horn club. Based on the real Albert Grossman who discovered Peter, Paul and Mary, and managed Bob Dylan, Grossman is the lone witness to Llewyn's audition. This may be the most touching musical moment of the movie ("The Death of Queen Jane"), but it's clearly the wrong song for the moment. Oscar Isaac is exceptional as Llewyn Davis. He captures that crisis of self that's necessary for an artist whose talent and passion is just out of step with societal changes. We feel his pain, but fail to understand the lack of caring he often displays towards others. We get how his need for money overrides his artistic integrity as he participates in the novelty song "Please Mr Kennedy". Why Isaac's performance is not garnering more Oscar chat is beyond my understanding. It's possibly due to the fact that the movie and his character are not readily accessible to the average movie goer. Some thought and consideration is required. If you are expecting a feel good nostalgic trip down the folk singer era of Greenwich Village, you will be shocked and disappointed. Instead, brace yourself for the trials of a talented musician who believes the music should be enough. Speaking of music, the immensely talented T Bone Burnett is the man behind the music and it's fascinating to note how he allows the songs to guide us through the story and keep us ever hopeful of better days. This is the Coen Brothers at their most refined and expert.

Exposing egotistic society

[perica-43151 · 7/10 · 16 September 2020]

This Coen brothers take on the legendary US folk scene in the early 60s, through a down on his luck protagonist, gives nice touch of Greenwich village atmosphere and struggles of an aspiring musician. The musician, based on some of the later famous folk personalities whose music was used, is talented, not mediocre or anything like that, though he has had a tough moment in his life, losing his singing partner to suicide, due to cruelties that he is also exposed to. He struggles without money, and amused Coens take a dark look at the heroic battles of an aspiring artist, who finds little understanding and all the condemnation in his surroundings. Judging by the many condemning comments on this site, subtleties have been lost on the masses. It is a cruel society that equates success with moral virtue, and considers poverty as a moral sin. The artist due to his integrity refuses some chances for commercial success, but even that is construed as his failing by some of the comments, and therefore much of vulhgar mob. Thus, the joke is again turned on the shallow members of the public, who celebrate reality stars while condemn a clearly virtuous, but struggling actor, just because he lacks success. In the end, we get a glimpse of Bob Dylan, who had a powerful gift that was ultimately not possible to deny, but only after he was discovered by some wise people, and who famously snubbed the booing mob and the shallow journalists and could afford to follow his own path. Instead of celebrating the success, Coens shed light on the struggle, and provide an opportunity for the unsophisticated non-creative consumer mob to demonstrate their monstrosities and in some case appallingly complete lack of empathy and absolute inability to distinguish poverty from lack of virtue, bad luck from lack of talent, terrible circumstances from moral deficits. The conclusion is again, that people who do get, through the sheer combination of power of their talent, personality and good luck, to the top, have every reason to shun the shallow hating mob that would, no doubt, shred them to pieces with gusto if they had fallen to bad luck.

An under the radar, anti-Hollywood masterpiece

[ShimmyKR · 10/10 · 1 October 2016]

This is the first time I've felt compelled to write a review for on IMDb. There are only a few movies in history that have impacted me as much.

The first time I saw Inside Llewyn Davis, it left me feeling empty and confused. While I appreciated the music, the acting, and the cinematography, I couldn't understand why anyone would love this movie (and I am a huge Coen fan). After all, it's just scene after scene of a jerk getting beaten up by life with no real plot progression and no real reason to care about any of the characters.

I then came across the movie again on TV and decided to give it another chance.

After this second viewing, the movie's themes connected with me in a big way. After my third and fourth viewing, it shook me to my core.

This movie is almost too realistic. It follows none of the conventional "rules" and there is no winner or hero. There's no real drama. There's no "silver lining". There's only struggle. And then acceptance.

For every one Bob Dylan there are myriad Llewyn Davis'. Really talented musicians and artists that work really hard and simply don't catch the lucky break. People go under the radar, under-appreciated and overlooked. People that never make it big and therefore question whether they should be doing it at all.

This is a film for the everyday folk; a beautiful empathetic look at art, music, and everyday struggle.

Don Quixote with a guitar

[saschakrieger · 10/10 · 17 December 2013]

No doubt: Llewyn Davis is a loser. First, his career as a folk singer is going badly: his duet partner committed suicide, his record isn't selling, he makes so little that he cannot afford his own apartment but has to move from friend to friend, or rather from acquaintance to acquaintance. Secondly, as far as human relationships are concerned, he is a total failure. His ex girlfriend despises him, one of her predecessors faked an abortion to have him out of her – and the mutual child's life – people who are sympathetic to him, get a rather rude treatment on a daily basis. After A Serious Man, the Coen brothers have again chosen to depict a man on the wrong side of luck. Only this time, one might say he deserves it. Or maybe not, for he has one redeeming feature. The film opens with a long scene in which Davis (Oscar Isaac) performs a sad old folk song. The camera gently hovers around him, catches the hushed, intensely attentive atmosphere of the smoky basement club, while he sucks his audience – us – into the dark, sorrowful world he creates in his song, hinting at a depth he so often will not show in "real life". It is this contrast, the dialogue between the sadly funny tale of a modern Don Quixote and that other, older, tenderer story, the music tells. For as much as this is Llewyn's story, it also is that of the redeeming power of music. For even if Davis is the same at the end as the story comes full circle and returns to its opening, as he once again gets beaten up and is succeeded on stage by a young, cocky folk singer with a nasal voice who will soon change music – and not just folk music – forever, there is just the tiniest hint that this Llewyn Davis might have some sort of promise after all, maybe not as a successful singer, but as a human being. Inside Llewyn Davis is inspired loosely by the story of Dave van Ronk, a star of the Greenwich Village folk scene around the time of Bob Dylan's arrival there in 1961. Dylan learned a lot from van Ronk and stole some of his most promising songs, but that is a story to be told another day. This one is about a man lost in a world that hasn't been waiting for him, who has a mission that is entirely his own. The lengths to which he goes to show the world he doesn't care are astounding. And yet he craves love. Oscar Isaac is a miracle: even in his most repelling state, in his most rejecting attitude, there is a flicker of sad longing in his face, his eyes, a face the Coens show us much of. It is one you need to dive into, closed to the casual observer but hiding so much pain and uncertainty and desire to live one sometimes thinks it must explode. The Coens' cinema is one of subtlety, of nuanced, of shades of grey between the black and white. In Isaac, they have found their perfect actor, heading a stellar cast including Carey Mulligan, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake. As so often, the Coen brothers are masters at creating an atmosphere, a universe of its own, unique as well as absolutely consistent. It is a world of the night, in which grey shades reign, days are pale and dust is everywhere. Even in the open there is a sense of narrowness, of tight spaces, lightless basements that are cage and protective space in one. It is the tiny holes that provide the only rooms for creativity, for the soul to speak. And so it is that the dark world of the underground gradually regains some warmth and coziness, the dark becomes a zone of comfort, while everything else becomes cold and distant. Having said all this, Inside Llewyn Davis is first and foremost a comedy in the Coenesque sense of the term. It is a Quixotic tale full of quirky characters at time bordering on the fairy-tale like – especially true for the sequence around Goodman's character, a trodden-down mixture of villain and clown that calls up associations of the expressionist nightmare world of their earlier film Barton Fink. The other foot of the film is firmly on the ground, in the existential struggle of a man the world won't welcome. But there is still that third element: music, that timeless realm of love and pain and suffering and hope. It is here the film is anchored, it is here this Don Quixote conquers his windmills, armed solely with his guitar. It is here it all comes together. Tragedy, comedy, fairy tale, social drama, held together by the softest of touches. Another Coen brothers masterpiece. What else could be expected?

Another "Not-Easy-to-Watch" but altogether Impressive Coen Bros movie

[ericjams · 7/10 · 11 December 2013]

I saw Inside Llewyn Davis in a sold out matinée in Union Square, NYC last weekend. The city was cold and dreary, much like the 1960s Manhattan depicted in this film. I sat with my friend after the movie and basically railed against the film for the first ten minutes before slowly admitting that my criticisms were obviously the intended result and that the Coen Brothers have once again made a great movie that is simply not easy to digest and certainly not fun to digest.

I'll lead with the greatness. The underlying takeaway of this film is that the actual creation of music - the sound, the beauty and the lyrical story - can embody some of the best attributes about humanity and yet, the creator of such music can nonetheless lack all such attributes and essentially be as ugly a person as his music is beautiful. That is the takeaway, and the Coen Bros intentionally force this upon the viewer. The folk songs song by Lleywn serve as calming beautiful interludes and as stark contrasts to the plot driven by a character who is simply put, a terrible human being stuck in an extremely frustrating, self-made vacuum of an existence.

I assume that most people, like me, gravitate toward wanting to root for the struggling artist. There is a nobility in pursuing your dreams when such dreams consist of the pursuit of an art form. Here, folk music is put on a pedestal and LLewyn's pursuit of it is from the outset, something the audience implicitly will support. In the course of 90 minutes, the Coen Bros force you to question this support, hate the lead character and eventually cheer when he gets punched in the face.

The problem is simple. I did not want any more of LLewyn Davis after 90 minutes. I did not want to hear his music anymore because the lyrics he sung were fraudulent, the beauty of his playing, a guise. And due to his self-made failings throughout the film, I no longer cared where his story went. The Coen Bros could have taken the plot line in any number of ways to give the viewer some foothold to hope that Llewyn may end up on the right track one day. They do not give you that foothold, and for that reason, I was pretty ready for this movie to end when it did. This is admittedly a criticism, but more an observation. I certainly do not need films to end with rainbows and hearts, but this script really forces you to watch a man stuck in a static world where his own actions cause him to go nowhere, and that is a frustrating world to inhabit for 90 minutes.

The best parts of the film are not the Manhattan scenes, but the drive LLewyn takes to Chicago. The Coen Bros have used the theme of "driving at night" time and time again to make some great scenes, usually emotionally charged personal voyages. This is no different. Their cinematography and over all character driven story telling shines when their lead characters hit the road. The bit characters are fun and unusual in the Coen Bro's way, but do little to ease the 90 minutes of crass, immature, self-defeating, out-of-touch and eventually just pathetic life movements from Lleywn's character

For Coen Brother fans, its worth the journey; for general movie fans, be warned, as this is an interesting film, but arguably not an enjoyable one.

Fantastic sound, atmosphere, acting.

[dfranzen70 · 9/10 · 11 December 2013]

Inside Llewyn Davis is an intimate, well-executed, and honest slice of life. It features a humanistic, heartfelt performance by Oscar Isaac as the titular folk singer, arresting cinematography, and a sharp, tight-fisted script by the Coen brothers, who also directed.

It's Greenwich Village in the early sixties, when folk music was either coming into its own or ready to be usurped by a more mainstream genre. Llewyn has no home, drifting from gig to gig and crashing on couch after couch as a matter of design; is vagrancy is his life's plan. Llewyn is at turns a noble soul who exists for the sake of making the music he wants to make and a resentful twerp who mooches off friends just to sustain his unsustainable lifestyle.

The movie is only somewhat linear, with closing scenes mirroring opening scenes, and it is told entirely from Llewyn's point of view. The Coen brothers masterfully show us not only Llewyn's perspective but also an outside perspective; this allows us to feel both empathy and loathing toward him.

Llewyn is nothing if not complex. The movie does a terrific job of avoiding the usual clichés, such as a down-on-his-luck musician catching a lucky break, or a bitter man having a quick change of heart. It's not that Llewyn is constantly sneering at everyone, holding his poverty up as both a shield and a trophy, it's that he is so multilayered that when he does a kind act or offers some praise or thanks, we don't feel that his doing so is in any way out of character. Llewyn is a self-tortured soul, but unlike caricatures of wandering folkies, he is at his center a realist, albeit a prideful one.

During his travels and travails, Llewyn encounters people ranging from the genuine (his singing friends Jim and Jean, played by Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan) to the absurd (a rotund, blustery John Goodman). Oh, and a cat that travels with Llewyn - at least until he can get him or her back to the owner. The encounters with the genuine folks feel just as normal as if you or I encountered them; those with the more absurd of the lot feel perfectly surreal, and when they do end one almost wonders if we've all imagined the encounters through Llewyn himself.

The music is beautiful and moving. Isaac himself performs Llewyn's songs, with a sweet, vulnerable voice that offers a touch of soul to Llewyn's otherwise-bleak surroundings. When Llewyn is really on, you can feel his pain leap right off the screen into your brain; when he appears to be going through the motions and not singing from his heart, you can feel the lack of depth that his intended audience also feels. Isaac is just flat-out terrific.

Ultimately, it is Isaac and the music that push this film into the territory of great cinema. The story itself is stark, moody, unyielding - just like a New York City winter, really. And the movie, like Llewyn's own life, appears to have no point - except to illustrate just how pointless Llewyn is making his life, through his stubborn marriage to his craft and a desire to stay uprooted

The anti-Dude

[chaos-rampant · 11 March 2014]

At some point of this the folk singer we've been following is stranded at night by the side of the road in a car with possibly a dead man and a cat, another man has just been arrested by police for not much of a reason. He gets out to hitch a ride and there's only a cold, indifferent night with strangers in their cars just going about.

This is the worldview the Coens have been prodding, sometimes for a laugh, sometimes not. I can't fault them, it does seem to be inexplicably cold out there some nights. They're thinkers first of all, intellectuals, so it stings them more so they try to think up ways of mocking that thinker who is stung by the cold to amuse themselves and pass the night.

So this is what they give us here. A joyless man for no particular reason, who plays decent music that people enjoy or not for no particular reason, who the universe has turned against. The Coens don't pretend to have any particular answer either of why this is, why the misery. It might have something to do with having lost a friend, something to do with not having learned to be simply grateful for a small thing. It might have something to do with something he did, the initial beating up in the alley is there to insert this. Sometimes it's just something that happens as random as a cat deciding to step out of the door and the door closing before you can put it back in. Most of the time it all kind of snowballs together.

It's a noir device (the beating - cat) bundling guilt with chance so we'll end up with a clueless schmuck whose own contribution to the nightmare is inextricable from the mechanics of the world. The Coens have mastered noir so they trot it here with ease: the more this anti-Dude fails to ease into life the more noir anomaly appears around him.

Of course the whole point is that it's not such a bad setup; people let him crash in their apartment, a friend finds him a paying gig, somehow he ends up on a car to Chicago where he's offered a job. It's not great either, but somewhere in there is a pretty decent life it could all amount to, provided he settles for less than his dream. (This means here a dream the self is attached to). I saw this after a documentary on backup singers, all of them profoundly troubled for having settled for less, all of them nonetheless happy to be able to do their music.

Still, 'The incredible journey', seen on the Disney poster, may in the end amount to no more than an instinctive drive through miles of wilderness. The Coens are cold here even for their standards. I wouldn't be surprised to find it was Ethan, the more introverted of the two, ruminating on a meaningless art without his partner.

Is there a way out in the end? Here's the trickiest part, especially for an intelligent mind. You can't just kid yourself with any other happiness like Hollywood has done since Chaplin. You know it has to be invented to some degree, the point of going on, yet truthful. Nothing here. More music, a reflection. It's the emptiest part of the film as if they didn't know themselves what to construct to put him back on stage. Visually transcending was never their forte anyway. They merely end up explaining the wonderful noir ambiguity of that first beating.

Still they are some of the most dependable craftsmen we have and in the broader Coen cosmos this sketches its own space.

Coen brothers recreate an era

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 22 April 2014]

It's 1961 in Greenwich Village. Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) is a struggling folk singer who lost his musical partner Mike to suicide. His new solo album isn't selling but then neither is anything else he did with Mike. He stays at his friends the Gorfeins but the cat gets locked out. Then he visits his friends Jim (Justin Timberlake) and Jean (Carey Mulligan). She tells him that she's pregnant possibly by him. And Llewyn's life keeps drifting on.

Brother filmmakers Ethan and Joel Coen have brought something different with this original character in this unique era. It's beautifully filmed as usual. Oscar Isaac is a newcomer and an unknown. He fits this character very well. He has a drifter musician quality to him. Carey Mulligan takes a hilarious turn with her angry performance. The movie has a mellow and rambling vibe. It also has its big moments. The music is awright but nothing exciting. It's a man slowly drifting in the world as his musical career tries to stay afloat.

Beautiful Cinematography, Captivating, Worth Seeing Again

[kgkacan · 9/10 · 20 November 2013]

Saw the prescreening at the Michigan Theater in Ann Arbor, MI with average expectations, this is my reaction:

This film is an experience, but not for any sort of superficial special effects, action or CGI. It's an experience in which you will feel fear, joy, hate, hope, sorrow and contempt all within an hour and 45 minutes that feels more like 15 minutes. We are sidelined, watching a short snippet of Llewyn's seemingly dismal life, drudge on by, yet we are drawn. We connect with Lleywn's anger and struggles, as if we too are burdened by his failures and challenges. But amongst the bad, there are moments of cheer, and laughter and peace reminding us that good still exists. What dominates is power, balanced by music, money and pride, yet this movie is better served as a reminder that life is an experience, and individualistic. We are reminded that more often than not, things do not fall into place and luck is rarely on our side. But no matter how many times people fail you, one should never fail, before one's self. This movie is an experience, it indirectly breaths life into each of our souls, and should appeal to anyone in touch with the most crucial human emotions: compassion and empathy. Hold on tight, because it is one experience that will remain with you long after the credits are through. Perfectly casted, perfectly scripted, perfectly filmed; perfectly entertaining.

Stay Outside of 'Inside Llewyn Davis'

[jordan2240 · 6/10 · 10 January 2014]

The wife and I have been looking forward to this film coming here ever since we saw previews in December. I enjoy most of the Coen Bros. movies and the quirky characters they create. Unfortunately, this contained none of those, and was a chore to sit through. Some of the encounters are entertaining, but overall, the story just isn't that interesting. The music got rather tiresome after a while as well. Something a little up-beat thrown in might have helped keep me from fighting against my eyelids. There was very little to laugh at here as well, which is also not generally the case with the Coen Bros. Hopefully their next effort will be back in form. I don't know that even the die-hards will enjoy this one.

Marvellous musical masterpiece

[paultreloar75 · 9/10 · 4 February 2014]

There have been movies made about musicians, both real and imagined, from End of the Century through I'm Not There, taking in The Future is Unwritten and A Mighty Wind. We've had almost every conceivable approach, from straight-up documentary through imagined version of events as well as completely invented bands, singers, songs, and concerts. Yet, I don't think that anyone has ever managed to do what the Coen Brothers have produced with this tragic, comedic, touching piece.

Which is to essentially transport you into the grooves of an LP, Inside Llewyn Davies, and bring you a beautifully realised portrayal of the eponymous hero as he trudges his weary way through the greys and greens of Greenwich Village in a cold New York. And it is so reminiscent of the experience of listening to your favourite vinyl album from track one, side one to the final track of side two, whilst curling up on the couch with a cat in your lap, listening to a selection of melodic, melancholic, traditional, and new folk music.

The music binds this movie together and Oscar Issac inhabits the title role in a world-weary way that aches with ennui and longs for something never expressed. We follow his tramping travails through a range of vignettes that build subtly towards creating a quite compelling picture of the man behind the music. He sometimes does what we expect and at other junctures, veers off in a mad new direction. There is little explanation for any of the decisions that he does, or doesn't, take. He's searching without any clear idea of the quest.

Along the way, we meet a wonderfully diverse bunch of supporting characters, from the biting Jean, acerbic tongue and acid looks, through the snoring bully Roland Turner and his valet Johnny Five, as well as Mitch and Lilian, the Upper West posh couple, but especially Ulysses, our hero's apparent companion over the week (or was s/he?). They all offer opportunities to understand Davies' psyche slightly more, albeit admitting that not even he appears to be fully cognisant himself.

It's a lovely looking film, beautifully shot and much more enjoyable that I would have believed possible from watching the trailer previously. T Bone Burnett has done a sterling job on the soundtrack, it's so affecting and the way that the songs are all allowed to play out saw the audience in the cinema in which I saw this mainly remaining seated through the end credits as well. Which brings me back to the vinyl album sensation. You don't pick up the needle when your favorite record is playing the final track, because you want to get on with something else instead. No. You let it run right to the end of the groove and then your heart fills with an equal mixture of pleasure and joy, sorrow and sighs, as the last bars fade to quiet and all that's gone before becomes a memory that's so strong and so addictive that you want to turn it over and put the needle back into the groove all over again.

This movie is precisely like that sensation and I loved it, from first frame to last. A quiet understated tragi-comedy, dark in places, and shadowy in others, but with a humanity and a compassion that you cannot avert our gaze from. Hell, it's even got a coda of a scene to be dealing with, which at the end takes your mind back to the start of the production and forces one to reexamine what has just passed before your eyes. Recommended.

Inside Llewyn Davis is half empty.

[st-shot · 6/10 · 15 January 2014]

For every Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and Simon and Garfunkel in the early 60s you probably had a thousand Llewyn Davis's; semi talented folkies who kept the dream alive by starving and crashing at other peoples pads, straining for that break, the brass ring remaining elusive. Inside Llewyn Davis is a week in the life of one aspirant whose dream is mostly a nightmare.

Davis (Oscar Issac) opens with our protagonist warbling a melancholy tune at a Greenwich Village coffee house where neophytes try their luck. After his set he gets punched out by a mysterious stranger in the alley, finds out he has a fellow folkie pregnant, is being grossly under represented by his agent and has it revealed to him that he is a dad with a two year old in Akron. He is also sidled with a friends cat that he eventually abandons. He decides to try his luck in Chicago when he has opportunity to hitch a ride with a jazz artist and poet. Chicago it turns out is as welcoming as NYC and he is soon headed back after an audition that offers some daylight which he rejects outright.

The Brothers Coen once again deliver a unique and original character in the self absorbed, irresponsible Davis. A moody ungrateful sponger you still find yourself rooting for him as he chases the elusive dream of making it big while refusing to confront reality. The overall narrative itself however is loose and raggedy with a patchwork quilt of stilted scenes and our hero literally going in circles with the contrived road trip, though John Goodman as the zonked out jazz cat does have a moment dissembling folk with his jazz comparison.

The Coens do an excellent job of utilizing the cold harsh winter to emphasize Davis's wearying struggle as well as portray the times by lining the sidewalks and some expansive shots with massive eight cylinder behemoths covered in winter grime. There is also a wonderfully energized scene where Davis and the boys do a studio take of a Ray Stevens ( Please Mr. Custer, Alley Oop) type comedy tune popular back then that lifts Inside from its morose gloom momentarily before Llewlyn once again self implodes by signing away the royalties for cash upfront.

The Coens are once again to be commended for continually going against the grain of formulaic main stream film in both character and scenario but with Davis little of the supporting cast is fleshed out and the ancillary characters that inform their past works with telling incidentals fail to register amid the glum theme here and the film like one of the Oldsmobile 88s mired in a snow bank spins its wheels much of the time.

Some great atmosphere, but story of clueless, narcissistic folk singer, really isn't worth telling

[Turfseer · 4/10 · 17 January 2014]

The problem with the Coen Brothers is that in every one of their movies, they're looking through a glass half empty and never half full. 'Inside Llewyn Davis' is no exception. Oh yes, you'll find the usual excellent cinematography, casting, acting, direction and neat recreation of bygone eras. But what you'll never find is sympathy for your protagonist. The Coen Brothers always pride themselves on standing above the fray and looking down on their anti-heroes. In essence, what they're saying is, 'we're good at exposing the underbelly of the dark side of Americana; applaud us.'

The failed folk artist, Llewyn Davis, is prototypical of their one dimensional view of things. Are there really people like the fictional Davis (supposedly an amalgam of real life musicians including Dave Van Ronk, Phil Ochs and Ramblin' Jack Elliott)? People so clueless, so narcissistic, that they never listen to feedback from anyone else, so that they never change. It's a rare individual who is so misanthropic, like the Coens' Llewyn, that you will ever run into him, in real life. But even if there is such a character, does he really deserve to be immortalized in film? I hardly think so.

The Coen brothers had no problem in admitting that 'Inside Llewyn Davis' has little plot. More important is the fact that the story is devoid of a concrete antagonist. The only antagonist is Llewyn's internal demon— which takes the form of myopia, cluelessness, and narcissism. The demon never emerges into Llewyn's consciousness, so that perhaps he can reflect upon where he is going wrong. Instead, we're asked to sit through a 104 minute chronicle of an unlikeable mediocrity, who pursues a wrong-headed quest for fame and fortune in the folk music world of the early 60s.

Llewyn Davis is much more caricature than a real human being. The Coen brothers go out of their way to show just how much of a loser this guy is. Are there really people like this? Consider their catalogue of Llewyn's shortcomings: He originally was part of a Simon & Garfunkel precursor type group, Tom & Jerry, but his partner committed suicide; he has no money and sleeps on acquaintances' couches; he's forced to carry some friends' cat around with him after he locks himself out of their apartment; he impregnates a woman but doesn't have to pay for the abortion, after he learns from the abortion doctor, that a previous girlfriend, never went through with the procedure; he drives all the way to Chicago, only to learn that a music manager never received his latest record in the mail and doesn't think he has any commercial potential; he heckles a woman during a folk concert and is later beaten up badly by the woman's husband, outside in a dark alley.

'Inside Llewyn Davis' is the ultimate sad sack tale. And unfortunately, sad sacks never make for good drama. What the film does have is lots of atmosphere. There are some neat cinematic scenes, notably the one involving John Goodman as a sleazy, heroin-addicted jazz musician, who is a passenger along with Llewyn, on that trip to Chicago. I also liked the attempt to recreate NYC in 1961, particularly various streets in Greenwich Village.

Rather than consulting all the positive reviews from 'professional' critics on Metacritic, you'll find some much more honest and insightful reviews in the review section of IMDb. There, at least, is a sense that Llewyn Davis is not a believable character and if by chance, such misanthropes truly exist in real life, their journeys are certainly not worth being looked at, given the lack of change or growth. If you like a straw man, Llewyn Davis is for you. The Coen brothers are experts at shooting straw men down--but such a maneuver should never bring praise and accolades; that's reserved only for the gullible!

There is a creative sadness in here, but it is heavily masked in sporadic plotting, hidden meaning and a dreary tone

[bob the moo · 8 March 2014]

Like almost everyone who loved or hated this film, I do generally like the Coen brothers and am not against having to do work to enjoy and appreciate a film. This is an important thing to say because Inside Llewyn Davis is certainly not a film to come to as a casual viewer just looking to kill a few hours – not as a snobby thing of "you'll not appreciate it" but just a reality that the film does almost nothing to help the viewer. The plot involves struggling folk musician Llewyn Davis in the Greenwich Village scene of the early 1960s; he is not particularly commercial, is irresponsible, downbeat and cannot look after others or even the cat belonging to others. We follow him over the course of a week which will change his life and see the world around him change too.

I really did want to like this film because at times there is a certain beauty to it in the pained reality of its lead character, his situation and his gradual realization of where his life is and where it is going. Unfortunately this is generally spread very thin and instead of having a structure that supports this, we instead get an episodic approach that makes the "week" feel like months, sees characters just come and go whether we have an interest in them or not and generally doesn't allow you to do more than grasp at metaphors which drift by – usually resulting in the people who love the film the most being those who brought a lot of their own selves to the table, leaving us who look to the film to at least help, feeling left out in the cold and even a little bored.

The music is beautiful when it comes and the cinematography is excellent as it captures and shapes the feel of the film and the character – it is bleak to look at for sure, but it is suitable and effective for what the film is. The same could be said of Isaac's performance because it is what the film needs him to do but the downside is that it isn't really what the viewer needs him to do. His personal journey (physical and emotional) is made harder b the coldness of his character – there is really not much to grab hold of here and he is generally difficult. As often is the case with the Coens, we have characters drifting though the story usually in a colorful fashion – the times it has worked in other films has been frequent but here I didn't think it did at all, with nobody seeming to add much. As writers of the material and directors of their cast the "blame" (depending on your view) belongs with the Coens as they have made this film very difficult to get into.

Full of supposed metaphors and with a sadness which is put in the distance look of its title character rather than in his heart or in the audience's line of sight, the film drifts along with a general sense of sadness and change which always interested me but just seemed deliberately out of reach and distant. I'm sure if you "get it" then it is a film to adore, but for me it just didn't work at all.

A road movie with little traveling

[peefyn · 8/10 · 30 April 2017]

Much like most other movies by the Coen's, this seemed very different to everything else they have done. Before seeing it, I expected it to be a sincere attempt at portraying a Dylan-like figure, with a heavy focus on the music itself, and also with a whole lot of nostalgia. This is kind of true, but these are not the aspects of the film that'll stay with you (even though the music was really good!).

There's not really much of a plot in this movie, but it's so well crafted that you hardly notice. Llewyn has a goal, but it's obvious from the start that this movie is not about reaching that goal, but rather about his every day struggle, and the life as a folk musician in an almost mythical period of music history. Llewyin is an interesting character, flawed but easy to like. His struggle feels real, and plays into an overarching theme of how your fate can be out of your hands, but also how perseverance can lead to something good.

The movie is similar to road movies in that it features a lot of different characters that Llewyn meets and interacts with. Some of these are very much Coen-esque, and I'm always amazed by how Coen manages to establish such layered side characters, despite them only appearing on screen briefly. Bot casting and writing must be stellar to be able to do this, and they seem to do it all the time.

It ends in a way that makes the movie more than just a mood piece, and opens up for some interesting discussions. Once again, they've managed to make a brilliant film.

The Gloomy Innocence Of The Coen Bros

[harrypaulson-111 · 10/10 · 21 March 2014]

It's like a gust of wind that never stops. I was altered, disturbed and amused by the clarity of this poets. From Joel and Ethan to Bruno Delbonnel, Oscar Isaac, to T Bone Burnett and everyone who enters, even for an instant, this sublime, unique, startling P.O.V. Aware but never condescending to the audience. No explanation as to why this story deserved to be told. The answers are private, deeply personal, enlightening and, at times, chillingly transparent. The face of Oscar Isaac, my God! For me one of the most enthralling discoveries of 2013. At times it reminded me of an updated character in an Italian Neo-realistic film, others one of those images from one of Martin Donovan's sessions. I sat through Inside Llewyn Davis twice in a row. I can't wait to repeat the experience soon again.

White White White

[soapsuit · 7/10 · 20 December 2013]

This movie has so much whiteness in it, you will die of cold dark icy whiteness. Folk music is white. All the actors are white. There is no spirituality, soul, rhythm, funk or beat to any moment in this white movies starring white people living out white lives. This movie makes High Fidelity look like an episode of Soul Train. White.

That being said, there is genius to this turtleneck fiasco. There is no magic here. I don't mean "magic" like when you first saw a girl you knew in elementary school at the pool after 8th grade. I mean: There. Is. No. Magic. Not one single coincidence. Nothing works. Nobody bumps into anybody. A special song never comes on the radio. You know the right place at the right time? Not that. Never. Not once. Mr. Davis misses phone calls and has to pay for things and never gets ahead. The rug that really pulled the room together? Not here. There is no toe and it's past 3 o'clock. This movie is an absolute black whole of utter magic-less horror. Blackful blackness without a thimbleful of black magic. Just utterly long scenes of driving. Midwestern bleakatude times infinity. DOn't talk to me about the cat. He is not black. And he has no magic. It's not even the same gosh-for-saken cat. Abysmally devoid of the usual magical movie timing predictable magic amazing it-all-works-out magic. Black.

It's not easy to take a basic movie plot (and some fake instrument playing which, for me, from a very early age, has caused a whole-body breakout of festering hives) and take OUT all the timing and typical predictable movie mechanisms thereby leaving a sort of movie antimatter which might, once it comes out on DVD, have the capacity to bond with a magic filled movie like Raising Arizona and create an explosion that would level the entire universe. So be careful.

Another Great Coen Brothers Film

[dimoulas-466-176153 · 10/10 · 19 November 2013]

Inside Llewyn Davis is a hard film to quantify. It is very much a Coen Brothers movie, and it is very much its own thing. I did not know the history of the story. I did not know the story behind the Gaslight club in New York nor did I know of the famous figure who started at the bar back in 1961 when the film takes place. I found out after the film was over. However, not knowing that, I still thought this was an incredible movie.

There are oddly poetic scenes in the film. There is a scene where the main character Llewyn Davis hits a cat with his car. As he watches the cat limp away into the darkness injured, I felt that it was an interesting image that seemed to mirror Llewyn's life in the film. Although I was aware of the poetic aspect of the film, I did not feel that they were forced moments. In interviews the Coen Brothers always seem to play dumb. In an interview for this film the Coen Brothers talked about the cat in the movie, and how they didn't know what to do with the story, so they threw in a cat. Anybody who has seen a Coen Brothers movie can appreciate that this is far from the truth. Every moment and image seems to be very specifically placed, and that was the case for this movie as well.

You can't judge this movie the same way you would judge every other film this year. It's almost as if the Coen Brothers have their own language that they are speaking, that the audience does not fully understand. We catch some things, and even with those few moments, I was mesmerized. Sometimes I really notice their style like in their film A Serious Man, and I find myself confused and bored, but this film felt very true to me. I sympathized with the main character and his struggles, perhaps because I consider myself a creative person as well, so I know how hard it is. At one point Llewyn says, "I'm just so f-ing tired," this line says a lot more than just I want to sleep. It is something we can all relate to, a feeling of just wanting to give up, and in this way, the story is a universal one, but then again it's the Coen Brothers, so automatically I know some people might not like it, but I loved it.

Left wanting much more

[omalmi · 6/10 · 30 December 2013]

I figure there's something wrong about a movie when your heart tugs most for the fate of a cat. While this film was beautifully cast and shot, with superb cinematography and great 60's era music and art direction, I was left thirsting for some real emotional connection to the main characters. I found the script, the story, to be wanting. Perhaps some great bits were left on the cutting room floor (an Akron Ohio reunion ? the royalties from the Kennedy song ? the future of Jean's relationship ?) Too many threads from the story were left unexplored and unresolved, imho. Hardly best picture material, despite the lovely audio-visual experience it provided.

Oscar Isaac is Incredible! Coens Best Since 'Fargo'

[ClaytonDavis · 10/10 · 26 September 2013]

I am completely smitten. I have long admired Joel Coen and Ethan Coen and what they have offered the realm of cinema. I am in love with "Fargo" still until this day, and they've provided solid efforts on nearly every outing since. Their newest endeavor that focuses on the folk scene in 1961 is an absolute dream. Everything from the impeccable Oscar Isaac to the music that enriches the deepest trenches of the soul, "Inside Llewyn Davis" is one of the best pictures of the year, plain and simple. It's the Coen Brothers finest film since "Fargo." Our story begins with a folk singer, Llewyn Davis that has continued to pursue a music career in 1961 despite being penniless and lacking any real stability. Migrating from couch to couch, we get a deep look into a character with a dream that just won't die. As he fights for his chance to share his voice with the world, following an unexpected loss of his singing partner, Llewyn is hard to love. He makes poor choices and seems to lack any responsibility in his life. It's a wonderful creation of a character that offers insight into a changing time in our history. First of all, I can't get the amazing music out of my head. All the songs used are absolutely brilliant. Oscar Isaac's richly matured tone is so soothing and authentic; I'm surprised a music company hasn't nabbed him up to make a record yet. His opening and closing songs are his, as well as the film's, pivotal moments that encapsulate the endearing message and theme. "Hang Me, Oh Hang Me" and "Fare Thee Well (Dink's Song)" are astonishing records that may not just fall into an Oscar race but a Grammy wouldn't shock me in the least. It has the same magical effect as "Searching for Sugar Man," two films that seemed to capture the innocence and culture of a generation that seems lost. In terms of performance, Isaac is incredible. So raw and genuine, it's one of the year's finest performances by any actor. He has made himself one of the most exciting actors to watch in the coming years. This will lead him into more challenging and accessible roles. This guy could become one of our finest actors in just five years' time. This is something that should land him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. It's very much deserved. In their respective but short screen times, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, and Carey Mulligan are all infectious and notable. Goodman plays a character similar to his "Harling Mays" from Robert Zemeckis' "Flight" and makes the most out of his appearance. Mulligan is volatile and I loved every second of her. She brings lots of dark humor and fire to a role that shows the depth of her abilities as an actress who can perform impeccably in any genre. We even get her singing again which had me melt two years ago during her "New York, New York" in Steve McQueen's "Shame." Hedlund comes and goes but makes his mark as he often does. Justin Timberlake has made a seamless transition from musician to actor and back to musician. Great in roles like "The Social Network" where his star power doesn't distract from the story at hand, in a Coen Brothers film, where he sings (in a very current pop way), he becomes a bit distracting. I was very aware that Timberlake, probably this generation's Michael Jackson, was sharing the screen. More than likely not his fault, it could be a case of being "too big" for your movie. One thing that the film has taught me…we need to give Adam Driver more movie roles. Timberlake, Isaac, and Driver put their marks on one of the songs "Please Mr. Kennedy," and make it one of the year's most fun and remarkable numbers. Joel and Ethan Coen continue to show their ranges in directing and writing. Flawlessly executed in character understanding and keeping our story moving. Llewyn Davis is such a complex and interesting man and their screenplay gives Isaac room to breathe and explore the subtle nuances that make his character unique and real. As their alter ego Roderick Jaynes, the film moves like a smooth monorail, hitting all its marks and picking up new and exciting quirks along the way. An almost silver-green canvas evokes the dark and grey tones of the New York scene in 1961. Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel masterfully captures the ticks and beats of Isaac as he sings with heartbreaking emotion and walks through the frigid cold streets. Jess Gonchor's production design places us all in the folk scene, with intimate bar settings, old-time music studios, and even the classic feel of a Greenwich Village apartment building. CBS Films has a gem on their hands with "Inside Llewyn Davis." A sure- fire Oscar contender in several categories including Best Picture. If there's any justice in the film world, Oscar Isaac would firmly sit near the top of the finest performances of 2013 in Best Actor and nab nearly every award he comes in contact with. "Inside Llewyn Davis" is sensational and an instant classic to be remembered.

Music Provides a Gateway to the Hidden Soul

[drqshadow-reviews · 7/10 · 23 July 2016]

A somber, often morose walk through the self-imposed daily miseries of a struggling musician at the onset of the '60s folk revival. Strangely paced and often lingering, like many Coen brothers films, it's densely packed with backstory that, while only hinted, reverberates as though it had been fully explored. Llewyn carries several weights with him; a disintegrating family, several failed relationships, a constant need to seek out empty couches for the night and a personal guilt for never quite cracking the big-time. He's a cold character, quick with angry outbursts and hurtful words, but we see a hidden warmth when he wraps his arms around a guitar and steps up to the mic. The film as a whole cherishes such musical interludes, shines them like a flashlight upon each character's innermost spirit: troubled, worried, silly, it's all out in the open on the stage, no matter how guarded the individual may be away from those bright lights. The plot doesn't have a lot of direction - at the core, it's a relatively unspectacular week in the life of a nobody - and that can make it dull and plodding at times. It touches a lot of emotions, though, from laugh-out-loud funny to quietly desolate, and the quality of the music makes up for a lot of its shortcomings. A worthwhile journey, if not a spectacular one.

The anti social musical film

[arighnachatterjee · 8/10 · 28 July 2020]

Llewyn Davis, a struggling folk singer. He's not so successful in his professional as well as personal life. He has quite a relationship with cats. Doesn't have enough money to sustain his daily days. Doesn't have a home and is a wanderer. The people he loves despises him and he despises other people. The film shows you the ups & downs or more like downs & downs of llewyn's life. Towards the end of the film the character's depression was quite visible. The story progression of the film is really interesting. The cinematography is quite basic and yet pretty. The tonality & ambience of the film is very unique, very soft, dreamy & quite soluble. You'll doubt whether you're sleepy or it is the film which is like that. Oscar Isaac played Llewyn very well. An underappreciated & great musical film.

Watch it for the music, the feel of 1960s New York, and Oscar Isaac's Performance

[azmark1887 · 7/10 · 15 September 2021]

If people love or hate this movie, I really don't get it either way. I'm middle of the road. I enjoyed the music, the atmosphere -- which is rather dreary, but it is NYC during winter -- and Oscar Isaac's performance.

Some reviewers said Davis' character wasn't especially likeable, but anyone who would carry a friend's cat all over Manhattan, while also toting a guitar and an overnight bag, because he was responsible for letting it getting out of the apartment can't be a bad guy.

I understand his frustration. For anyone who has ever tried to do something hard for the love of it while hoping enough people would care that it would make a difference but felt like most everything was against you, there's a poignant message here.

I chased my viewing with a whiskey on the rocks and didn't regret the two hours I spent. Why some musicians (and writers and artists and actors) fail and others who aren't any more talented, maybe even less so make it is a mystery of the universe.

And for the record, I would rather listen to Llewyn Davis than Bob Dylan any day of the week.

The folk scene without the folk or the scene

[rlchianese · 5/10 · 28 December 2013]

It's amazing how dazzled one can be by so very little these days. There's very little here--a struggling unpleasant man who sings his heart out about standard "folk" catastrophes but can't take care of himself as he goes about damaging others, and animals as well. He's your 50's college roommate who cooks on a hot plate and sings about historic heroic starvations. The in- and-out mythic references are unfocused and a game for undergraduates. When the Coens go flat it's not even E flat. We're forced to watch this guy's face for an hour or so without a clue to his demons; he's just a jerk, a driven jerk but a jerk nonetheless.

Best part is the recreation of the early 60's in cars, atmospheres, but then John Goodman shows up from "Where art thou?" and spoils the realistic angst. Sorry, but the early folk scene wasn't this creepy and Bob Dylan didn't rescue it from oblivion or creepiness. Without a political or sexual agenda (it got you chicks) it did flounder, but it needed an audience for shifting values and social awareness. One's suffering couldn't just be for one's art, but had to have a social dimension that this guy can't see. A genius before his time? Hardly--a guy who can't take care of himself, or his friends or family or lovers--anything but "folk." The times they were a changin', but this guy's a talented pathetic scrounge and lacks the connections to others and society that might propel him to sing for the changing times.

This might be the ethos of the Coens and their films themselves--within society but not of it. Their characters struggle with their messy quirky lives but we see them as curiosities rather than representatives of anything important. There's a certain clown show aspect to their films, which creates their charm and fun but little else.