Inside Llewyn Davis

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Joel Coen directs. Bruno Delbonnel behind the camera. Ethan Coen cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 13 years ago.
• 2International production across 3 countries: France, United Kingdom, United States of America.
• 3200+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 4Directed by Joel Coen, shot by Bruno Delbonnel. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Editor Ethan Coen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan and Justin Timberlake carry the top of the cast.
• 7IMDB entry: tt2042568 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Classified under 27 themes, including "chicago, illinois", "depression", "new york city", "rock 'n' roll".

The technical file

Cinematography

Bruno Delbonnel

Editing

Ethan Coen

Production design

Jess Gonchor

Costume design

Mary Zophres

Makeup / hair

Nicki Ledermann

VFX supervisor

Alex Lemke

Sound

Greg Orloff

Stunt coordinator

Jery Hewitt

Runtime

105 min · 1h 45m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$11,000,000

Box office

$32,935,319

Return

299% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) ↗

Also by

Joel Coen

• 
  No Country for Old Men

  2007 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Big Lebowski

  1998 · ★ 7.8
• 
  Fargo

  1996 · ★ 7.8
• 
  The Man Who Wasn't There

  2001 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Barton Fink

  1991 · ★ 7.5
• 
  Miller's Crossing

  1990 · ★ 7.4

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  New Trailer

  Teaser · Official
• 

  ▶
  "Fare Thee Well"

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  The Coen Brothers and Guillermo del Toro on INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  500 Miles

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  AFI AWARDS 2013: 'INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS'

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Green Green Rocky Road Clip

  Clip · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• kineticandroid2014-06-21

  At first, I strongly identified with Llewyn Davis' struggles — I think you'd be hard pressed to find a musician who doesn't — but by the film's end, I realize not only how many of those struggles are self-inflicted, I feel as if Llewyn is going to cycle through them many more times before things pick up or bottom out. Musically, Llewyn comes across as scrappy and soulful. He's just the person I'd want singing those sad, world-weary folk songs, at least compared to the cleaner- cut performers he meets throughout the film. And yet, that soul seems to come from tragedies (the suicide of his one-time musical partner) and anxieties (the relationships with family and former lovers) he's too stubborn or poor of spirit to work through properly. He keeps floating by thanks to some enablers. Couches are continually offered for him to sleep on, even after Llewyn insults their owners. A club owner still books him as a performer, even after he is forcibly removed from the club for heckling other performers. It's hard realizing you're in a vicious cycle while you're still inside of it, trying to keep your head above water. It's even harder when connecting with people is as difficult as it is for Llewyn. I feel like the Coen brothers understand that, take it seriously, and yet, from that, created something that made me laugh and engrossed me.

  Read full review ↓
• CinemaSerf2024-03-30
  ★ 7/10

  Aspiring folk musician "Llewyn" (Oscar Isaac) finds himself in Greenwich Village in New York during the winter of 1961 trying to make a living from his art. He's a well known face in the clubs having been part of a jobbing duo for many-a-year, but now he is finding it much harder to crack the scene as a solo artist. His aspiration has an habit of blinding him, though, and his somewhat erratic behaviour stresses his relationships with fellow folkies "Jim" (Justin Timberlake) and "Jean" (Carey Mulligan) on whose couches he finds himself increasingly relying. To add to his woes, his manager "Mel" (Jerry Grayson) isn't really much cop and his eponymous album isn't exactly flying off the shelves. "I know", he thinks, a change of scenery. A chance meeting with the enigmatic "Turner" (John Goodman) and his word-shy driver "Johnny" (Garrett Hedlund) takes him to an interview in Chicago with the talent-spotting "Bud" (F. Murray Abraham). Might any of this help our budding Bob Dylan make any progress? The drama itself here is really intimately presented, with some tight photography helping to convey the emotion maelstrom this man is living through as he tries to reconcile his almost puritanical search for perfection with his growing appreciation of the real - and not so accommodating - world. There's a great little song with himself, Timberlake and the sparingly used, but on-form, Adam Driver ("Al") that shows the latter has some solid musical timing, and a good sense of humour too! This looks like a labour of love - not just for the Coen's, but for Isaac who genuinely seems to sweat the role. It's a wee bit wordy, but the ensemble ensure that the segments of his life and travels in search of something intangible become and remain engaging to watch. Oh, and it's true - everyone else does sing Dylan songs better than he does himself!

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  StudioCanal

  FR

• 

  Anton Capital Entertainment

  GB

• 

  Mike Zoss Productions

  US

Key crew

• ProducerJoel Coen
• Production DesignJess Gonchor
• ProducerEthan Coen
• ProducerScott Rudin
• Costume DesignMary Zophres
• Executive ProducerOlivier Courson
• EditorEthan Coen
• EditorJoel Coen
• Executive ProducerRon Halpern
• CastingEllen Chenoweth
• Art DirectionDeborah Jensen
• Executive ProducerRobert Graf
• Visual Effects SupervisorAlex Lemke
• Makeup Department HeadNicki Ledermann
• Set CostumerKat St. John
• Set DresserZach Selter
• Set DresserDimitra Bixby
• CompositorsMichael Queen
• OtherJason Harris
• Sound Re-Recording MixerGreg Orloff
• Music EditorJen Monnar
• Music EditorTodd Kasow
• Set DecorationSusan Bode Tyson
• Still PhotographerAlison Cohen Rosa

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• chicago, illinois
• depression
• new york city
• rock 'n' roll
• guitar
• winter
• cat
• subway
• pregnancy
• overdose
• dark comedy
• melancholy
• folk music
• aspiring singer
• grief
• hitchhiker
• cafe
• recording
• hitchhiking
• self expression
• greenwich village
• merchant marine
• 1960s
• couchsurfing
• bleak
• struggling musician
• death of friend

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere2013-09-28· New York Film Festival
• Premiere2013-10-24· Chicago International Film Festival
• Premiere2013-10-28· Austin Film Festival
• Premiere2013-11-14· AFI Fest
• Premiere2013-11-21· Ivy Film Festival
• Theatrical (limited)2013-12-20R· Limited expansion
• Theatrical (limited)2013-12-06R· New York City, New York / Los Angeles, California
• Theatrical2014-01-10R
• Digital2014-03-11R
• Physical2014-03-11R· Blu-ray / DVD

Also known as

International titles

• 关于勒维恩·戴维斯CN
• 인사이드 르윈KR
• A propósito de Llewyn DavisES
• Balada de un hombre comúnAR