Inside Llewyn Davis

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) starring Oscar Isaac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Garrett Hedlund, Justin Timberlake, F. Murray Abraham. This is a rather depressing movie about a week in the life of Llewyn Davis, a folk singer in New York in 1961. The film has an interesting structure, as it loops back on itself and the opening is repeated at the end, a very unique approach. But in between, it is all about how Davis can't get it together, and how he is forced to sleep on friends' couches every night because he can't afford a place of his own to live. There is a lighthearted bit about a cat, which comes into Davis' possession after he accidentally lets it out of a friend's apartment. But mostly the film just seems downbeat to me, and Davis is not a very appealing protagonist. (English subtitles for the hearing-impaired are available on the disc.) Grade: B-