The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

• Written, Directed, and Produced by the Coen Brothers
• August 31, 2018 (Venice) / November 9, 2018 (US)
• Netflix

Six vignettes (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” “Near Algodones,” “Meal Ticket,” “All Gold Canyon,” “The Gal Who Got Rattled,” and “The Mortal Remains”) taking place in the Old West.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is an unusual film, but then again unusual is nothing unusual for the Coen Brothers. They definitely aim for the weird and quirky to a certain extent with each project and this certainly has plenty of that. This is an anthology film whose stories only real connection is that of the Coen Brothers.

I find myself a little disappointed that the segment featuring the character of Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson) did not last longer. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, from which this film gets its name, is probably the most lighthearted and fun of the stories, though much like all of the narratives presented it doesn’t end on an upbeat note. At least not entirely.

The opener was perhaps the more unique story as Westerns go. The titular Scruggs is a singing cowboy gunslinger that does not look like much but is a ridiculously adept fighter who is very in charge of every situation and serves as a bit of a narrator for the story by breaking the fourth wall and directly addressing the audience.

There is a great deal of singing in this particular one making it a dark homage to the singing cowboy films of old. Yet it does not lighten the mood of the story nor dull the impact of anything that occurs. It’s ultimate lesson being that nobody can stay on top forever

All the stories though are great and all entertain with each having a point of some type.. The Coens had previously made a version of the True Grit story that failed to impress me too much. This is head and shoulders above that though it is a completely different type of Western. It is largely their own material allowing them to do as they wish rather than be beholden to someone else’s work.

We have a very good cast for the film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs. Tim Blake Nelson, Tyne Daly, James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Heck, Clancy Brown, Zoe Kazan, Harry Melling, Liam Neeson, Saul Rubinek, and Tom Waits all show up. Some of them show up for virtually no time at all with their appearances amounting to little more than extended cameos. A spotlight is not put on their presence. They are not there to suck up time for their egos. Rather they show to help tell the story of that particular segment.

The darkest story is certainly “Meal Ticket” which features Liam Neeson as an aging impresario and Harry Melling as artist Harrison who has no arms or legs. Profits are dwindling and The Impresario eventually purchases a guessing chicken for better income. While travelling to the next gig the Impressario tosses a large rock into a ravine. You know where this is going and it is so unsettling.

This movie even ventures into the horror realm with the final story “The Mortal Remains.” It’s not overtly supernatural or anything but there is enough dropped that you pick up it is. The bounty hunters in the story refer to themselves as reapers. Mrs. Betjemen (Tyne Daly) dressed all in black as if she was in mourning despite going to meet her husband. And the real clincher is the stagecoach that races off with the luggage even though the passengers have entered the hotel. Why is that significant? If they were living, they would need luggage. Since they’re dead, it’s of no use to them. I even took it that René the Frenchman (the fantastic Saul Rubinek) was perhaps Death itself.

All of the stories in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs manage to generate something. A sense of fear. Laughs. Pity. There’s a separate emotion for each one. It’s not just one entertaining story, but rather a series of short films whose major thing in common is that it’s in the West.

Then again, this is a rare Western movie that not only drew major talent but had a decent budget. The costuming is dare a say authentic? I dare. It is very much like what you would find in any historical photographs from the time. I’m not sure if it was quite that necessary, but it added an extra special element to the film.

There are so many possibilities that you can do with the Western, but the genre has fallen out of favor. I liked this much more than I thought I would. I thought it would be an interesting diversion, but I can honestly see myself watching this again. Each story had something special to offer.

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was an entertaining collection of Western stories that will keep you hooked. There is something here for everyone. This is something I recommend to Western fans and fans of film in general.