---
title: "Inside Llewyn Davis"
year: 2013
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis"
fi1m_id: "inside-llewyn-davis"
imdb_id: "tt2042568"
tmdb_id: 86829
wikidata_id: "Q2340655"
fi1m_score: 87
critics_score: 85
critics_reviews: 17
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:48.874007+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)

Directed by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen · 1h 45m · MPA R · Drama, Music

## Identity

Inside Llewyn Davis

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** inside-llewyn-davis
- **IMDb ID:** tt2042568
- **TMDB ID:** 86829
- **Wikidata ID:** Q2340655
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2042568/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/86829, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2340655

**Fi1m score: 87** · Critics 85 from 17 reviews

*In a sentence:* A folk singer worth hearing, preferably before he has had time to speak

> The Coens’ melancholy folk comedy is funny, moving and worth the patience it asks for. Oscar Isaac makes its difficult singer worth following, though the wandering middle could test even a sympathetic listener.

## Synopsis

In Greenwich Village in 1961, folk singer Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac) tries to keep a musical career going through a week of setbacks. He moves through the folk scene with little certainty about his future, making his dealings with other people harder through pride and resentment. His efforts raise the question of how long to continue pursuing music, and how much of his trouble he brings on himself. Joel and Ethan Coen’s film follows him through a snowy New York, with Carey Mulligan as Jean, Justin Timberlake as Jim and John Goodman as Roland Turner.

## Review

With *Inside Llewyn Davis*, Joel and Ethan Coen ask us to spend time with a musician whose talent does not make him pleasant company or guarantee him a living. We recommend this funny, quietly painful film, with one reservation about its wandering middle. The interest lies in watching someone make his own difficulties worse while still having something worth hearing. Oscar Isaac plays a struggling folk singer in Greenwich Village during a snowy week in 1961.

Isaac refuses to make Llewyn’s bad behaviour secretly adorable. The pride and resentment are wearing, and we can understand why this man struggles among other people without deciding that every setback is deserved. We were moved when Isaac sang the folk songs in full; the feeling in his voice made us care about a man we had begun to dislike. He does not need an apologetic speech to win our attention. The musical performances give us time to listen to him.

The music also explains why this works as a film about artistic ambition. Llewyn can sing, but hearing him does not settle the question of what he ought to expect from a career. The Coens, editing as well as writing and directing, allow complete songs to occupy time that another film might spend hurrying towards the next opportunity or disappointment. That patience lets us judge the musician for ourselves, and the singing has an immediacy that helps justify it. The performances were recorded live.

Bruno Delbonnel’s photography makes the snowy setting feel inhospitable, discouraging any wish to exchange our lives for Llewyn’s. Jess Gonchor’s production design gives the folk scene a convincing everyday setting, supported by Mary Zophres’s period clothes. We can enjoy looking at their work without losing sight of how uncomfortable this life is. The detail serves a film concerned with getting through a week, rather than celebrating a decade.

The Coens are less sure-footed when the journey takes over from the singer. The road-trip stretch has the same dark humour, but it goes on long enough for the attention to drift; the editing that serves the songs so well is less helpful here. There are also moments when the amusement at Llewyn’s failings feels too easy, as though his being difficult has settled every question about him. Isaac keeps that from becoming the whole film. His performance holds our sympathy through passages where the writing seems more interested in devising another frustration for him.

A more reassuring musical drama would let us take a good voice as proof that better days were coming. Here we can wonder how good Llewyn is, how much trouble he causes himself and how much anyone could change by working harder. The Coens leave us to think about that while listening, with no need to agree on whether this man deserves a career. At 105 minutes, it asks for patience but not a heroic commitment. Give it an evening when the singing can have your full attention.

*Fi1m score 87, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics respond warmly to the Coens’ melancholy study of artistic failure, praising its dry humour, period detail and sympathy for a difficult central character. Oscar Isaac’s performance draws the clearest agreement: the reviews find him compelling without making Llewyn easy to like, with his singing revealing feelings the character otherwise keeps guarded. Praise also clusters around the folk performances and the evocation of Greenwich Village, which avoids treating the scene as a lost paradise.

The reservations concern the wandering narrative and how much tenderness survives the Coens’ cruelty. The AV Club finds that the film loses focus midway, while the Evening Standard considers the road-trip sequence indulgent. The Hollywood Reporter singles out that same sequence for praise as surreal satire. The spread is largely between enthusiasm and qualified admiration rather than outright rejection; even the cooler responses recognise Isaac’s achievement.

## Straight answers

**How long is Inside Llewyn Davis, and what is it rated?**

*Inside Llewyn Davis* runs 1h 45m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a drama and music film.

**Where can I watch Inside Llewyn Davis in the US?**

*Inside Llewyn Davis* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**What should I watch after Inside Llewyn Davis?**

After *Inside Llewyn Davis*, try [*Five Easy Pieces*](https://film.one/film/five-easy-pieces) (1970, Fi1m 88): Another difficult musician makes it hard to separate wounded pride from wasted ability. Then [*The Commitments*](https://film.one/film/the-commitments) (1991, Fi1m 82): For music made together, clashing egos and the awkward business of ambition; and [*Frances Ha*](https://film.one/film/frances-ha) (2012, Fi1m 82): Another precarious New York artist, with more bounce and no easier prospects.

### Reviews we read (26)

- **Little White Lies**, Adam Woodward (4/5/5): The Coens deliver a rhapsodic yet melancholic portrait of a cynical, self-defeating folk singer navigating setbacks and self-inflicted wounds in the 1960s scene. The music performances stand out as infectiously soul-nourishing, with the film balancing humour and a bittersweet sense of place and perseverance. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/inside-llewyn-davis)
- **Time Out**, Dave Calhoun (5/5): The Coens craft a special, tender and warm time capsule of a struggling folk singer's chaotic week in snowy 1961 Manhattan, mixing melancholy, cruelty and hilarity. The wonderful soundtrack of folk standards lingers, evoking a counterfactual music history with feeling for the absurdities of artistry. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/inside-llewyn-davis)
- **Empire**, Dan Jolin (90/100, inferred): The Coens deliver one of their most sombre and elliptical films yet, centred on a flawed, unlikeable folk singer whose uncertain future leaves viewers tantalised. It is beautiful, heartfelt and utterly enthralling despite its melancholy tone and lack of neat resolution. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/inside-llewyn-davis-review/)
- **Slant Magazine**, Chris Cabin (85/100, inferred): Hails the wise, melancholic winter's tale and Isaac's vivid, complex lead performance as one of the Coens' strongest recent character studies, centered on a talented but stuck musician confronting his limitations. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/inside-llewyn-davis/)
- **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (85/100, inferred): The critic commends the Coens for their sympathetic and curious portrait of Llewyn Davis as a remarkable human being behind an average artist, treating the character's turmoil with sincerity and tenderness. The film is seen as the Coens' there-but-for-the-grace-of-God story, centering on the life of the soul amid cosmic jokes and artistic struggle. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-folk-singer)
- **Total Film**, Philip Kemp (85/100, inferred): The Coen brothers are on top sardonic form with a winning tale of an incorrigible loser in the early-60s Greenwich Village folk scene. It hits the right note on every level, from period vibe and performances (human and feline) to the affectionate yet satirical treatment of the music. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/)
- **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (B+): Finds the film a looser, reverent snapshot of the folk scene with strong period music and Isaac's star-making turn as a self-sabotaging screw-up, but notes it meanders and loses focus midway. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-coens-pit-a-folk-singer-against-the-world-in-inside-1798178901)
- **Evening Standard** (80/100, inferred): Inside Llewyn Davis is a minor but deeply enjoyable study of failure and the 1960s folk scene, with Oscar Isaac compelling as the angry, proud deadbeat singer. The perfectly pitched music and memorable grotesques stand out, though the road-trip sequence feels indulgent. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/inside-llewyn-davis-the-coen-brothers-latest-film-is-deeply-enjoyable-film-review-9082204.html)
- **Screen Daily** (80/100, inferred): The Coens offer a very funny and moving character study of a flawed folk artist whose talent lags behind his personal failings and bad luck. It is a nuanced look at art, compromise and aspiring hopefuls, fitting alongside their other films about richly conceived central characters at a crossroads. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/inside-llewyn-davis/5056390.article)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein (80/100, inferred): Calls it an exquisitely crafted but downbeat tale mixing heartfelt folk music with overarching snottiness, centered on an asshole protagonist who remains compelling thanks to Isaac's performance. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2013/12/movie-review-inside-llewyn-davis.html)
- **Radio Times**, Damon Wise (7.4/10): The Coens deliver one of their most soulful films in this low-key, melancholy comedy set in the backbiting 1961 New York folk scene. Oscar Isaac shines as the struggling singer whose integrity clashes with the drive for success, with haunting music choices ensuring lasting impact. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-d6tkun/inside-llewyn-davis/)
- **Financial Times**, Nigel Andrews: The Coen brothers' charmer about a struggling folk singer is their best since No Country for Old Men, a poetic homage to The Odyssey and Ulysses with a sense of place and time. It singles out the wryly fugitive plotting, Oscar Isaac's dazed charm, the cat, and the mastery of subplots for praise. [Read](https://www.ft.com/content/74009a10-8422-11e3-9903-00144feab7de)
- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan: The critic calls the film bleak, funny, and exquisitely made, one of the Coens' best, that echoes familiar themes while becoming a singular experience through its empathy with the artist’s plight. It singles out the sympathy for the complex, contradictory protagonist who comes most alive when singing. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-inside-llewyn-davis-review-story.html)
- **Sight and Sound**, J.M. Tyree and Ben Walters: The Coens portray a talented but self-sabotaging folk singer adrift in the early 1960s Greenwich Village scene, lacking drive and repeatedly boomeranging between mishaps and lost opportunities. The film offers a melancholic, curdled counter-history to the decade's myths, with strong musical elements and dark humour about failure and disconnection. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-inside-llewyn-davis)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw: The Coen brothers' film about a struggling folk singer in 1960s Greenwich Village is a beguiling period piece that meditates on artistic failure and the dilemma of when to abandon a career. It singles out the exquisite sadness mixed with sweetness and the performances, particularly Oscar Isaac's, along with the musical sequences for praise. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/23/inside-llewyn-davis-review)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy: Praises the Coens' enthralling character study of a flawed, untrustworthy folk singer in the early 1960s Greenwich Village scene as a singular, gorgeously made work. Singles out the brilliant, surreal road-trip sequence as a standout satire on the era's 'on the road' ethos. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/inside-llewyn-davis-review-movie-2013-524956/)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (Critic's Pick): The critic praises the Coens' film as an intoxicating ramble through the 1961 Greenwich Village folk scene that blends surrealism, period detail, and pop-culture scholarship into a folk tale. Oscar Isaac's performance as the struggling singer is highlighted for its offhand virtuosity and refusal of easy charm, revealing deep emotion amid melancholy. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/06/movies/inside-llewyn-davis-directed-by-joel-and-ethan-coen.html)
- **The Telegraph**, Robbie Collin: The Coen brothers deliver a wildly accomplished film about squandered potential and unsung genius in the folk scene, with Llewyn's bad luck and self-sabotage creating a gloomily amusing, Kafkaesque narrative. It singles out the live-recorded soundtrack, Oscar Isaac's performance, and the Homeric structure for particular praise, calling it an instant Coens A-lister. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10066769/Inside-Llewyn-Davis-review.html)
- **Variety**, Scott Foundas: The critic describes the film as a boldly original, highly emotional journey through the early 1960s folk scene with an elliptical narrative and brusque protagonist. It praises the revelatory showcase for Oscar Isaac, who turns a potentially unlikable character into a relatable human presence through his angelic singing voice. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/film/markets-festivals/cannes-film-review-inside-llewyn-davis-1200482240/)
- **Den of Geek**, David Crow (5/5): The Coen Brothers' film is a moving ode to artistic failure, recreating the 1961 Greenwich Village folk scene with authenticity while exploring a universal theme of an artist's pure struggle without success. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/inside-llewyn-davis-review/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Craig Skinner (5/5): The Coen Brothers deliver a wonderfully meandering portrait of a struggling folk musician that is a quiet triumph. The film excels through its live musical performances and rich period details in costuming, set design, and cinematography. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/)
- **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (A-): The critic finds the film a somber, melancholy portrait of a struggling folk singer who cannot catch a break in 1961 Greenwich Village. They single out Oscar Isaac’s subtle, touching lead performance and the powerful full renditions of folk songs for praise. [Read](https://collider.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/)
- **Digital Spy**, Stella Papamichael (4/5): The film is a winding existential trip that is deliciously dark and funny, as much soulful as cerebral, with Oscar Isaac delivering a bold performance as the difficult-to-pin-down title character. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a540526/inside-llewyn-davis-review-deliciously-dark-and-funny/)
- **The Skinny**, Philip Concannon (4/5): The Coen brothers' film about failure is a wintry, melancholy comedy elevated by their inimitable touch, with a sensational lead performance from Oscar Isaac that makes it a deeply empathetic portrait of a struggling artist. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/inside-llewyn-davis)
- **Eye for Film**, Angus Wolfe Murray (60/100, inferred): The Coens shred the nostalgia of the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene in this feelbad rags-to-rags tale of a talented but unlikeable singer-songwriter who fails to make it. Oscar Isaac gives a standout performance as the central schmuck. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/inside-llewyn-davis-2013-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray)
- **The Wrap**: The critic describes the film as a dark comedy that circles around failure and stagnation in the early 1960s Greenwich Village folk scene. They single out Oscar Isaac’s riveting lead performance and the authentic ensemble work for praise while noting the Coens avoid nostalgic idealization of the era. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review-coen-brothers-dark-comedy-puts-hoot-hootenanny/)

## Details

- **Director:** Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- **Director:** Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- **Writer:** Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- **Cinematography:** Bruno Delbonnel
- **Editor:** Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- **Production design:** Jess Gonchor
- **Costume design:** Mary Zophres
- **Producer:** Ethan Coen, Joel Coen, Scott Rudin
- **Cast:** Oscar Isaac as Llewyn Davis; Carey Mulligan as Jean; Justin Timberlake as Jim; Ethan Phillips as Mitch Gorfein; Robin Bartlett as Lillian Gorfein; Max Casella as Pappi Corsicato; Jerry Grayson as Mel Novikoff; Jeanine Serralles as Joy
- **Runtime:** 1h 45m
- **Certificate (MPA):** R
- **Release (the US):** 10 January 2014
- **Genres:** Drama, Music
- **Also in:** [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Nominee, 2013)
- **Budget:** $11 million
- **Box office:** $33 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1Frad8i4Z4

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $12.99, hd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, hd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, IE, IL, IT, MX, NO, NZ, PA, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2014: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Sound (nominated)
- Cannes Film Festival 2013: Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix (won)

## If you liked this

- *Five Easy Pieces* (1970), Fi1m 88: Another difficult musician makes it hard to separate wounded pride from wasted ability. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/five-easy-pieces.md)
- *The Commitments* (1991), Fi1m 82: For music made together, clashing egos and the awkward business of ambition. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-commitments.md)
- *The Disciple* (2020): A patient study of musical devotion and the fear that talent has limits.
- *Frances Ha* (2012), Fi1m 82: Another precarious New York artist, with more bounce and no easier prospects. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/frances-ha.md)
- *The Match Factory Girl* (1990): For a harsher dose of dry humour about lives with limited prospects.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis