The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
…………………………………………………
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Movie Review
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a 2018 western anthology film directed by the Coen brothers and starring Tim Blake Nelson and James Franco among others. It’s flawed, but solid.
………………………………………………….
“First time?“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
First and foremost, I really dislike the Coen brothers. They are usually very annoying to me in their overly weird style of filmmaking and I find most of their movies very overrated with a few exceptions. This is one such exception. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is still far from a great movie and is only barely solid, but it’s still much better than most of their output and I was quiet pleasantly surprised.
As is the case with most anthology flicks, this one is also widely uneven in quality. I also did not find the thematic connective tissue all that strong, but the movie still isn’t too disparate which I appreciated. So let’s comment upon each of its six segments.
The first titular segment disappointed me. It started off rather strong, but it ended poorly in that very odd and honestly stupid heaven finale. Tim Blake Nelson is very annoying, but that was the purpose for his character. The highlight of this segment is easily that musical number which is dark in lyrics, but so incredibly catchy in its tune.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Near Algodones is simply a pointless story. James Franco is fine here, though definitely too modern looking for this time period. I found the beginning very entertaining, but the rest of it had no purpose to it and I was puzzled by it. Meal Ticket is even worse and this is where the movie became so bad that I was scared to continue it. A young man with no arms or legs recites poems to the audience and, needless to say, this story is so boring, honestly without any point to, at least for me, and by far the weakest and most frustrating segment of the bunch.
All Gold Canyon is also pointless in a way, but it’s actually a lot of fun and it showcases the brutality of the Old West remarkably well. It’s also the most effectively short and engaging segment of them all. And the last two segments are so good that they made this previously barely okay movie solid in my book so here we go.
The Gal Who Got Rattled is absolutely wonderful and so emotional. The romance worked so well and it beautifully showcased the theme of loneliness. I found the dialogue very grounded in reality and understated plus both of its central performances are superb. The Mortal Remains is also very good and it ended the movie on a strong note. The dialogue is phenomenal here as those conversations are very involving. The twist ending is also quite interesting.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs succeeds as a western more than it does as an anthology flick because the atmosphere is beautifully realized. The darkness is felt and the photography is simply fantastic, so bright and fueled by terrific costumes and especially sets. The acting is good across the board and even the direction is solid.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is better than most Coen brothers films as it’s not as annoying and I actually enjoyed most of it. This western anthology is beautifully shot with great sets, costumes and performances, but it is uneven in quality as some segments work and some are quite mediocre. The first one ended poorly, but was fun and it had one entertaining musical number; the second one is rather pointless; the third one is the worst and most annoying of the bunch; the fourth segment is the darkest and quite effective; the fifth segment is the most emotional and understated; the sixth ended the film strongly thanks to some fine dialogue and an intriguing plot.
