--- title: "Inside Llewyn Davis: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 17 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): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 17 reviews: 16 positive, 1 mixed, 0 negative. 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. ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 4/5/5. 22 January 2014. 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 the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/inside-llewyn-davis) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 5/5. 15 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/inside-llewyn-davis) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 May 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/inside-llewyn-davis-review/) ## Slant Magazine — Chris Cabin Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 29 September 2013. 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 the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/inside-llewyn-davis/) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 December 2013. 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 the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/a-portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-folk-singer) ## Total Film — Philip Kemp Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating B+. 5 December 2013. 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 the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-coens-pit-a-folk-singer-against-the-world-in-inside-1798178901) ## Evening Standard Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 30 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/inside-llewyn-davis-the-coen-brothers-latest-film-is-deeply-enjoyable-film-review-9082204.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 18 May 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.screendaily.com/inside-llewyn-davis/5056390.article) ## Vulture — David Edelstein Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 December 2013. 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 the review](https://www.vulture.com/2013/12/movie-review-inside-llewyn-davis.html) ## Radio Times — Damon Wise Rating 7.4/10. 24 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-d6tkun/inside-llewyn-davis/) ## Financial Times — Nigel Andrews 23 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.ft.com/content/74009a10-8422-11e3-9903-00144feab7de) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan 5 December 2013. 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 the review](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 24 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-inside-llewyn-davis) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw 23 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/jan/23/inside-llewyn-davis-review) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy 18 May 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/inside-llewyn-davis-review-movie-2013-524956/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 5 December 2013. 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 the review](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 the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10066769/Inside-Llewyn-Davis-review.html) ## Variety — Scott Foundas 18 May 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://variety.com/2013/film/markets-festivals/cannes-film-review-inside-llewyn-davis-1200482240/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 5/5. 20 December 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/inside-llewyn-davis-review/) ## HeyUGuys — Craig Skinner Rating 5/5. 21 May 2013. Festival review. 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 the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating A-. 26 September 2013. 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 the review](https://collider.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review/) ## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael Rating 4/5. 23 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a540526/inside-llewyn-davis-review-deliciously-dark-and-funny/) ## The Skinny — Philip Concannon Rating 4/5. 20 January 2014. 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 the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/inside-llewyn-davis) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 1 August 2014. 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 the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/inside-llewyn-davis-2013-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) ## The Wrap 15 November 2013. 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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/inside-llewyn-davis-review-coen-brothers-dark-comedy-puts-hoot-hootenanny/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/inside-llewyn-davis.md