The narrative centers on the titular character (Isaac), a folk singer whose life and talent was inspired by Dave Van Ronk (his track ‘Green, Green Rocky Road’ is featured on ILD’s stellar soundtrack). Penned and helmed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis contains the darkly humorous pessimism featured in their most resonant work (No Country for Old Men, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, and A Serious Men travel similar thematic ground), as Llewyn Davis just can’t seem to catch a break. Like much of the Coens’ stories, Davis’ failure isn’t simply due to his human frailties, but sometimes life is really about timing and, as the closing moments of this story suggests, sometimes lightning doesn’t strike twice.
The Blu-ray & DVD special features are unfortunately threadbare, as the only offering is the featurette “Inside Inside Llewyn Davis.” The making of documentary features the Coens, Elijah Wald, Stark Sands, T-Bone Burnett, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Chris Thile, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham, production designer Jess Gonchor, art director Mary Zophres, and cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel.
To hear Oscar Isaac talk about why his collaboration with the Coen Bros. worked so well in Inside Llewyn Davis, click on the media bar below: