Struggling folk artist's rhapsody in blue

COMEDIES don't come any blacker than the Coen brothers and their latest - the part-musical, part-tragicomedy, Inside Llewyn Davis - hits all the right notes. It's the siblings' ode to the folk music wave of the 1960s in America; one that captures the scene faithfully with both a fine eye for detail and a keen ear for music.

The brothers could well have made a Bob Dylan biopic with the setting but why simply settle for that when they've got a heartfelt original story plus an incredible set of songs written and performed by the multi-talented Oscar Isaac in the role of the titular character.

The tale spun by the Coens is one any struggling musician - past and present - can identify with. There are obvious shades of Dylan in Davis, the fictitious troubadour who roughs it out while waiting for his big break in the competitive Greenwich Village folk music scene.