Joel and Ethan and Llewyn never let up, and we watch and smirk and commiserate and feel the despondent stupor descend upon us, sliced occasionally by the music, shining in like sun streaming into a dank attic. The thing to remember about Inside Llewyn Davis is that while it might not be new, it never gets old.

…this is a pleasant enough film, which features its share of standout moments and is a welcome change especially for those who care about the kind of music it honours.

Oscar Isaac virtually lives the part of Llewyn and he is ably supported by Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake with the burly John Goodman notching yet another good cameo in this delightful soul-searching music drama. This is a must for music aficionados, specially folk music lovers.

Generously laced with dark humour and part-melancholic, Inside Llewyn Davis is full of clever Coen-isms and the film’s soundtrack too is wonderful. This one makes for some compelling viewing.

It’s dark and not commercial. It’s bitter and sweet. It’s everything you expect from Coen Brothers.
Every department has contributed with all their heart. The screenplay, costumes and cinematography are very well done, making it easy for you to get transported to the early sixties.

Whether or not you relate to it, you need to watch it on the big screen to appreciate its tragic beauty.

Somehow, the Coen brothers manage to make the fictional Llewyn Davis, with all the surreal elements in his life, feel more painfully real. Does the fact that his songs are such exquisite, melancholic gems make up for everything that Llewyn goes through and for the fact that he’s among those who are doomed to be forgotten? That’s the question that every unknown, struggling artist faces and to quote Llewyn, it’s a question that’s “never new and it never gets old.”

The film’s story gently caresses your artistic soul just like a favorite song would and manages to create an emotional connection. You get a warm feeling that promises to linger on, long after the final notes have been played in this 105-minute long film.

The sardonic art of Ethan and Joel Coen, so scornful of their own surly and defeated characters, never has had much room for emotional depth…Inside Llewyn Davis is their saddest and most poetic story ever. The recognizable narrative style—wide sweeping frames with just one crucial thing or person moving somewhere in the frame, moving to overcharged close-ups—is complemented by the mood-inducing cinematography of Bruno Delbonnel.