Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
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A struggling folk singer in 1961 New York City faces a series of personal and professional setbacks while attempting to maintain his artistic integrity.
The story
In February 1961, Llewyn Davis is a struggling folk singer in New York City's Greenwich Village. His solo album Inside Llewyn Davis is not selling; he is penniless and sleeps on acquaintances' couches. After playing The Gaslight Café one night, he is beaten up in the alley behind the café by a man in a suit. The film follows one week in the life of Llewyn Davis as he navigates the complexities of his career and personal life, dealing with a variety of characters and situations that test his resolve and his place in the folk music scene.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In February 1961, Llewyn Davis is a struggling folk singer in New York City's Greenwich Village. His solo album is not selling, and he is penniless. After being beaten in an alley behind the Gaslight Café, he spends a week navigating various situations. He stays with friends, deals with a woman named Jean who may be carrying his child, and tries to secure his future. He records a novelty song with Jim and Al Cody, and later travels to Chicago with a beat poet and a jazz musician. During the trip, his companions face hardships, including a heroin overdose and an arrest. In Chicago, he rejects a professional offer and returns to New York. He attempts to rejoin the Merchant Marine union but fails due to lack of funds. He eventually returns to the Gaslight Café, where he learns of the success of his novelty song and the fact that his own cat, Ulysses, has returned home. The film reveals the opening scene as the ending: Llewyn is beaten by a man for heckling the man's wife, while a young Bob Dylan performs on stage.
- First release year
- 2013
- Runtime (minutes)
- 105
- Production countries
- United States; United Kingdom
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joel Coen; Ethan Coen
- Writers
- Joel Coen · writer; Ethan Coen · writer
- Cast and characters
- Oscar Isaac · Llewyn Davis; Carey Mulligan · Jean Berkey; John Goodman · Roland Turner; Garrett Hedlund · Johnny Five; Justin Timberlake · Jim Berkey; Adam Driver · Al Cody; F. Murray Abraham · Bud Grossman
- Genres
- black comedy; drama
- Themes
- artistic integrity; failure
- Tone and mood
- melancholy; dark
- Premise and plot tags
- folk music; period piece
- Source material / true-story basis
- Dave Van Ronk's autobiography, The Mayor of MacDougal Street (2005)
- Reception
- The film received critical acclaim and was praised for its performances and atmosphere, though it faced some criticism from folk purists regarding its portrayal of the 1960s folk scene.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 92% · review count: 295; Metacritic · score: 93 · scale: 100 · review count: 52
- Production trivia
- The film features live musical performances by the cast.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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