Inside Llewyn Davis

Even though the Coens still have their own poetic style, even though this film has absolutely fantastic music, it is not something I would consider exceptional. The Coens delve into their absurd drama about a singer, we follow his fate, his "success" during one week, but to make the impression stronger, just like him, we also do not find a resolution. Unfortunately, this is not a film that would enchant me, no matter how well-made it may be. (2014-02-09)

A movie that, in my eyes, makes up for the fact that it talks about unpleasant life situations in an all-too-pleasant way. The steady pace of the episodic narrative is this time not disrupted (in a positive sense) by any exceptional supporting character or any charming filmmaking idea by which the Coens dissect the superficiality and get down to their typical atmospheric poeticism. Isaac is fine and the music is nice, though it will be appreciated mostly by folk enthusiasts older than 80 or so :) 70% (2017-02-06)

And they didn't disappoint again! Those Coens are some crazy bros. Inside Llewyn Davis is a wonderfully melancholic affair that manages to evoke smiles, laughter and moments of tense silence full of subtle emotions. All this accompanied by an excellent soundtrack, perfect actors and an incredibly great passage of the journey to Chicago, in which John Goodman shines in particular and which is one of the best things the Coens have ever written and directed. I was waiting for Bob Dylan to appear in the film the entire time, and still nothing... Then at the end... Or was it at the beginning? Go see for yourself. (2014-03-26)

The Coen brothers and their ideas are just really fun. It’s true that they don’t always nail it, but that’s the way life is. Some things just don’t turn out well. It might be given by the fact that when it comes to the story and its atmosphere, it’s simply non-interchangeable with anything else in the industry. And I have to admit, I really enjoyed the story of the musician Llewyn Davis. I enjoyed the campfire music he sang there, I liked the cat, but I was also interested in the thought processes that put Oscar Isaac on thin ice one minute after another. I really felt like I was inside that character’s head. And that ending? It was so dreamy… I love this kind of movie endings. If you love Bob Dylan, you’ll like the movie too. The Coen brothers are just good at this. (2014-02-28)

At certain moments, the uncomfortably familiar feeling of being lost, weary, and lonely during the grayest American winter in many years. It could perhaps be argued that the muted colors go a little too far in the overall bleakness of the film, but to its credit it is constant in its mood throughout and doesn't really offer any way out that would otherwise kind of belie itself. A surreal journey of several days to Chicago, where time stretches out into a seemingly endless black mass from which there is no escape, as all around is a frost-covered wasteland bordered by cones of car lights, is the Coen brothers' darkest period. "I'm tired. I thought I just needed a night's sleep but it's more than that." (2018-04-09)