‘Inside Llewyn Davis,’ The Coen Brothers' Latest Film, Wins Raves At Cannes

Inside Llewyn Davis, the newest film from Ethan and Joel Coen, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18 to rave reviews. Inside Llewyn Davis features a cast of established stars, such as John Goodman, Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake and stars in the making, such as perpetual up-and-comer Garrett Hedlund and actor Oscar Isaac, who plays the title role.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a fictional take on the folk music movement in the 1960s, taking place mostly in music clubs in New York City. Llewyn Davis, the protagonist, is an irresponsible, struggling musician who cannot get his life together—a change of pace from 2007’s Coen Brothers entry into the Cannes Film Festival, the violent No Country for Old Men.

Isaac has been earning a lot of buzz for his performance.

“As the title character… musician/actor Oscar Isaac commands the screen…[and] fully inhabits this hangdog, not terribly likeable starving artist, who when not onstage seems to divide his time between couch-surfing and knocking up his female acquaintances,” writes Mike D’Angelo of The AV Club.

“Faced with playing a man one would learn to steer clear of in real life, Isaac deftly manages the task of making Llewyn compulsively watchable,” raved Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter.

The Coen Brothers won the elusive Palme d’Or prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival for Barton Fink—and it appears that Inside Llewyn Davis could earn them another one. The film will be in wide release in December 2013.