Cinematography:
Bruno DelbonnelComposer:
Carter BurwellCast:
Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, Brendan Gleeson, Zoe Kazan, David Krumholtz, Ralph Ineson, Stephen Root, Harry Melling, Tyne Daly (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
Ranging from absurd to profound, these Western vignettes from the Coen brothers follow the adventures of outlaws and settlers on the American frontier. (Netflix)
Videos (2)
Reviews (9)
I had to strain to think back to a time when the Coen brothers last spoke to me so strongly, and the best I could do was No Country for Old Men. Even the related genre film True Grit was not as complex and did not cover as many subgenres as this one does. I am most grateful that from the very beginning this was a film and not a series, as originally rumored in the media, before the creators themselves shut down such rumors. This is exactly how, in seemingly unrelated stories bound by death, two hours, and a formal reading from a book, it clearly resonates how cruel, hopeless, and infinitely romantic life in the Wild West must have been.
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The Coens may have a lot of filmmaking years under their belt, but reviving a half-dead genre and enriching it with a short story style is a very good idea and definitely makes for good entertainment. The first two stories are absolute carnage and the best of the western genre of the last ten years, with no sparing of black-sarcastic humour and a decent dose of violence, so I think it's a great pity that the remaining four short stories are much slower (I'd skip the third and sixth altogether). The fourth one impresses with the idea, the setting and the surprising finale, and the fifth one has a slower pace, but the action-packed ending is satisfying enough including an unexpected twist. Overall, then, I'm satisfied, it's playful, absurd, gritty, funny and smart enough to keep the viewer's attention, but if the whole film had stuck to the opening two stories, we'd be talking about the best film of the year. 70%
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The Ballad of Buster Scruggs starts with an intriguing and original storytelling style, with Tim Blake Nelson taking center stage with his singing. The sequences in the dingy bar and at the card table are genuinely funny, and the ending of the story didn't disappoint. 82% Near Algodones features a character who always seems to narrowly escape certain death. The execution was surprising, as I expected some external intervention and rescue, but what else to expect from the Coens' dark humor, right? 82% Meal Ticket had immense potential, which unfortunately wasn’t fully realized. The ending is sad, but I expected Neeson wouldn't come out of it unscathed. 63% All Gold Canyon is probably the second-best contribution to the film. The impressive shots of the stunning landscape are complemented by Tom Waits' excellent, understated performance. The ending was initially frightening, but the 180° twist was a must. Justice exists! 88% The Gal Who Got Rattled is simply outstanding. Although it’s the longest segment, its conclusion completely blew me away. The shot of Mr. Arthur with President Pierce on the hill is almost poetic. This is how I remember the Coens! 90% The Mortal Remains had an ending I didn't quite grasp, but the transition from a comfortable journey to one with no return was quite impactful. 75% In summary, the film was successful. If it had maintained the quality of the fourth and fifth segments, I would have had no complaints. Still, it was a compelling return of this directing duo. Overall, 80%.
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Very weak Coens, hopefully they pick the weaker moment for the future. The stories are completely without a twist, there is only the adorable finger-shooting in the first one, the beautiful scenery in the one with the charismatic vagabond Watts, and here and there a typical Coen joke, but there are so few of them that they could be counted on the fingers of one hand of a sawmill worker. What I admire most about the Coens is the biting, caustic, ironic humour, which here is almost non-existent. Then the fifth and longest story is almost unbearable, it doesn't go anywhere, it's just such a cry into the wind and I have to repeat it again, without a single twist.
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The Coen brothers have always had their own specific approach to storytelling and this short-story western is no different. The beginning, for instance, is an exemplary bliss. Buster Scruggs is a character you simply have to love because the things he does in the first short story are simply badass. Coupled with the specific direction style of the Coen brothers, it’s the bomb. But then the first story ends, the second one starts and things get incredibly boring. The stories don’t follow up on one another and there aren’t any great endings that could attract your attention… the stories simply flow and the original excitement about the director’s ideas gradually fades and all you are left with is Buster Scruggs himself.
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