Llewyn (Oscar Isaacs, brilliant) is a bit of a loser. A struggling 1960s New York folk musician who has recently lost his musical partner, everything he does is tinged with failure. From looking after a cat to dinner with friends, getting a job, relationships – if there’s a way to screw up something, Llewyn will surely find it. At one point he’s compared to a King Midas of failure, which isn’t completely unfair.

However, he isn’t a horrible musician. Unfortunately for Llewyn, he isn’t great either and during a week in his life we see how infuriating that can be. He is striving for greatness without succeeding, but still close enough to almost touch it. He’s the fringe first grade footballer, the long-term backbencher politician, Orlando Bloom. And even though he’s a bit of a prickly character, I still ended up loving the guy, I think because of the nicely understated performance from Isaacs. He is so melancholic I just wanted to give him a lovely hug and tell him everything will be okay (although knowing him and knowing me, we’d find a way to screw that up too). Unfortunately I don’t know enough about the early 60s New York folk scene, but I do know that sadly for Llewyn, he is about to be pushed even further away from greatness with the arrival of Bob Dylan.

The whole film is melancholy in fact. The drab grey colour palette pervades everything and you feel Llewyn’s chills through the American winter. Considering Llewyn didn’t have a coat in the start of the film I dread to think how he would have coped during the recent polar vortex.

The Coen Brothers have created another unlikely hero and there’s a real pureness to the story telling even if is somewhat challenging. All the songs are played in full, so often the narrative is stalled. Why is Cary Mulligan so great at everything? Why isn’t Justin Timberlake a folk musician? What is the cat all about? Or John Goodman’s character? What is John Goodman ever really about though? Love him. It’s probably fair to say if you like the Coen’s other films, you’ll find something to like about Inside Llewyn Davis.

Put aside some time for serious contemplation and some pure storytelling, folk music and a cat (or two). 3.5/5