Watch Inside Llewyn Davis 2013 Full Movie

Joel & Ethan Coen are known for their off-beat and ambitious films which often mix comedy and crime, and feature colorful characters. "Raising Arizona", "Fargo", and "The Big Lebowski" certainly fall into that category. The Coens have also gotten gritty, beginning with 1984's "Blood Simple" and highlighted by 2007's Oscar-winning "No Country For Old Men" (and I called it, friendo). Their latest film doesn't fit into either of those categories or really follows anything the brothers have done in the past, which clearly, is exactly what they we going for.

"Inside Llewyn Davis" is a quiet, sincere look at a musician struggling to find purpose in his life in the midst of the 60s music scene in Greenwich Village, NY.

Oscar Isaac ("Drive") hits all the right notes as the title character. It's 1961. Llewyn, a folk singer, is still mourning the loss of his partner, who committed suicide. So now he's attempting to make it as a solo artist, but is getting no help from his crabby manager and is left to perform at the same club night after night.

His former girlfriend, Jean (Carey Mulligan) is pregnant, and she doesn't know if Llewyn or new boyfriend Jim (played by real-life music superstar Justin Timberlake) is the father. They are also a folk singing duo. Nonetheless, Jean wants an abortion.

Llewyn has no home and hardly any money. We follow him (and a cat or two) over the course of a week, as he wanders through the city and then goes on a road trip with businessman Roland Turner (John Goodman) and his driver ("TRON: Legacy"'s Garrett Hedlund) to Chicago, where he hopes to finally get his big break.

But the struggling singer can't escape his problems. He believes he's doing the right thing with the decisions he makes, but instead, often fails to think things through, which only gets him in deeper. Llewyn is not the hero of this story by any means. He is a lost soul, troubled by his past, and incapable of planning a future.

With "Inside Llewyn Davis" the Coens have created a character and a film that audiences should be able to relate to. His struggles are our struggles. Life continues to throw Llewyn curveballs, which he has difficulty handling. And still we see glimmers of hope for him as he pushes on.

Unlike the Coen Brothers' previous film, the 2010 remake "True Grit", "Inside Llewyn Davis" relies on an unconventional storyline to the finish. Llewyn is a victim of the poor decisions he's made and continues to make. And his pride often prevents him from getting the help he needs. There are life lessons here for everyone.

At times this is a moving film with a standout performance, great music and some smart dialogue, which also has important things to say. It will be very interesting to see if it inspires Awards Season voters. There are several strong scenes, but the movie is emotionally inconsistent. The quirky supporting characters are a bit flimsy, forcing Isaac to carry the film on his back. And the device of the cat doesn't work at all, resulting in more of a mainstream feel than, I'm sure, the Coens intended.