'Inside Llewyn Davis' (Part 1)

Joel and Ethan Coen's Inside Llewyn Davis (2013) is one of the great American films of the 21st century—and arguably their best. In part one of this special two-part episode of They Shoot Films, we dig deep into Joel and Ethan Coen's most haunting and misunderstood film—and make the case that it's an all-time masterpiece.

What makes Inside Llewyn Davis so hard to shake? Why does the film begin and end with the same scene? What is the cat actually doing in this movie? And why does Llewyn—clearly talented, clearly passionate—keep losing? We work through all of it: the film's brilliantly circular structure, Oscar Isaac's extraordinary performance, and the film's devastating final sequence, in which two songs with almost identical titles say completely opposite things about the same man's life.

Inside Llewyn Davis stars Oscar Isaac in the performance that announced him as one of the finest actors of his generation, alongside Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Justin Timberlake, and F. Murray Abraham—with music produced by T Bone Burnett.

They Shoot Films is a podcast about the movies that matter. If you've seen Inside Llewyn Davis and never quite got it out of your head, this is the episode for you. If you haven't seen it yet—watch it first. Then come back.

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