Overview
A struggling musician fights against the odds in the unforgiving winter of New York City.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- witty
- sardonic
- quiet evening
- rainy day
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film smart, funny, profoundly melancholy, and richly realized, with Oscar Isaac's performance and the folk soundtrack receiving particular acclaim.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Llewyn pursues a music career while alienating collaborators, friends, and potential supporters through abrasive and reckless behavior.
The Greenwich Village clubs, musicians, recording sessions, and folk repertoire establish the early 1960s folk scene as a living social world.
The narrative frames Llewyn's week through repeated patterns of performance, precarious lodging, conflict, and setback.
Snowbound Greenwich Village streets, subway journeys, and borrowed couches repeatedly place Llewyn in cold, transient spaces.
Films like Inside Llewyn Davis, and why
A Star Is Born
shared melancholic musician protagonist, folk music setting, dark comedy, and themes of artistic failure and ambition
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
shared Coen brothers sensibility, American vernacular music, absurdist humor, and an artist struggling against fate
The Last Waltz
shared intimate portrait of a self-sabotaging artist, wintery urban atmosphere, and bittersweet emotional register
Movie Details
- Directors
- Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
- Release Date
- 2013-10-18
- Runtime
- 105 min
- Rating
- 7.2 / 10 (3012)
Cast
- Oscar Isaac
- Carey Mulligan
- Justin Timberlake
- Ethan Phillips
- Robin Bartlett
- Max Casella
- Jerry Grayson
- Jeanine Serralles
- Adam Driver
- Stark Sands
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Inside Llewyn Davis about?
- A gifted but abrasive folk singer drifts through a freezing week of artistic setbacks, borrowed couches, and painfully funny self-sabotage.
- What is Inside Llewyn Davis like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Inside Llewyn Davis as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Inside Llewyn Davis violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Inside Llewyn Davis as mild.
- What did critics think of Inside Llewyn Davis?
- Critics broadly found the film smart, funny, profoundly melancholy, and richly realized, with Oscar Isaac's performance and the folk soundtrack receiving particular acclaim.
- Which films are like Inside Llewyn Davis?
- Films with a similar feel include A Star Is Born, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Last Waltz.
- How long is Inside Llewyn Davis?
- Inside Llewyn Davis runs 105 minutes.
- Where can I watch Inside Llewyn Davis?
- In United States, Inside Llewyn Davis is available to rent or buy from JustWatch TV, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
