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25th July 2025
05:48pm BST

Inside Llewyn Davis, one of the best movies of the 21st century, has just been re-added to Prime Video.
The 2013 film follows a week in the life of Llewyn Davis (Oscar Isaac in his breakthrough role), a folk singer who struggles to make it as a successful musician in New York City's Greenwich Village in 1961.
"Relying on the kindness of both friends and strangers, Llewyn embarks on an odyssey that takes him from the streets of Greenwich Village to a Chicago club, where awaits a music mogul who could give him the big break that he desperately needs," the plot synopsis reads.
The music drama was written and directed by the legendary filmmaking duo, the Coen Brothers (Fargo, No Country for Old Men).
It also features an excellent supporting cast including Adam Driver, Carey Mulligan, F. Murray Abraham, John Goodman and Justin Timberlake.
Both an emotionally affecting and a darkly humorous portrait of a failing singer, Inside Llewyn Davis' ingenious narrative structure, beautifully wintry cinematography, and gorgeous folk songs led to it becoming a box office success upon release, as well as a critics' favourite.
Holding a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie was named the 11th greatest film of the 21st century in a 2016 BBC Culture poll and the 2nd greatest film of the 21st century in a similar Hollywood Reporter list.
Also, the makers of one of 2025's most beloved movies, The Ballad of Wallis Island, told JOE earlier this year that Inside Llewyn Davis was a big inspiration for them.
Co-writer and star Tom Basden said: “It’s absolutely brilliant, and I think the way that they use a fictional musician in [Inside Llewyn Davis], it was absolutely on my mind with this.
“I find fictional musicians’ stories way more involving and moving than biopics of real musicians.”
You can read a sample of some of the glowing reviews for Inside Llewyn Davis here:
The Atlantic: "The Coen brothers' new movie ranks with their very best in its nearly pitch-perfect balance of biting satirical humour and deep reserves of feeling."
Dallas Morning News: "When the Coen brothers commit to something, there's no half-stepping. Every street corner bristles with authenticity. Every song lands exactly where and how it should."
Metro.co.uk: "The direction is pitch-perfect; the characters unique and eccentric yet fully realised; and the script, woven with absurdist comedy, [is] a marvel."
Philadelphia Inquirer: "Inside Llewyn Davis plays like some beautiful, foreboding, darkly funny dream."
For more on the movie, read JOE's long retrospective on it for its 10th anniversary right here.
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Inside Llewyn Davis is available to stream on Prime Video in the UK and Ireland.
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