The Good, the Sad, and the Funny
By Kevin Reardon
March 27, 2019
The Coen Brothers are back and better than ever! Their originally planned 6-part miniseries, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, has been turned into one of the most creative, beautiful, and twisted films Netflix has yet to release. The Coens have always been known for their darkly comedic films, such as The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and O Brother Where Art Thou?, and they use this style to full effect in their most original movie yet. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs paints a gorgeous portrait of the unforgiving, and at times, zany life in the Old West by showcasing six very varied vignettes, all with their own style and overarching themes. What makes these stores so great you might ask? Well…
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Over the Top in all the Right Ways
The first story of the film, aptly given the title name, is the most fun you’ll have in this cinematic tour de force. It focuses on the integral Buster Scruggs, a witty, well-mannered, gunslinger (the best gunslinger in all the Wild West, we’re told). Did I mention this portion is also a musical? Oh, yes indeed. We get to watch as Buster travels into town, plays a risky round of poker, and participates in a duel, all while Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother Where Art Thou?) serenades the audience with catchy and melodic tunes. Fun stuff!
Near Algodones: Karma is a Cruel Mistress
In the second, and shortest of the stories, we find James Franco (Freaks and Geeks, 127 Hours) as a cowboy looking to rob a bank, owned by the fast talking and idiosyncratic teller, Stephen Root (Office Space, Dodgeball). Franco ends up on the wrong end of a noose, but escapes, only to find that life has a funny way of working out. Although there’s not much apparent substance to be found here, the Coens tie it up nicely with a chuckle worthy joke and a simple, albeit meaningful message: bad things happen to bad people.
Meal Ticket: Tragedy Befalls Thee
Boy oh boy will tonal shifts in the film have you questioning morality. In this section, Liam Neeson (Schindler's List, Taken) plays a traveling showman, with quite the unusual act. Harry Melling (Harry Potter series) plays Neeson’s one man act, an armless legless Shakespearean orator. (Yes, you read that right). The Coens take us through the harrowing and tedious process Neeson goes through nightly in order to turn a profit, just to get enough food in his exhausted and well-worn body. Displaying a much darker side of the old west, Meal Ticket is a story quite like you’ve never seen before. It is rather slow-moving and harsh, but will leave you in shock once the curtains close.
All Gold Canyon: Hope in a Hopeless Land
The fourth, and my personal favorite tale, focuses on an old, giddy prospector portrayed by Tom Waits (Seven Psychopaths). In this beauty, we watch as the old man digs, and digs, and digs in search of the Old West’s most valuable and sparse commodity: gold. The Coens treat us to quite possibly the most beautiful setting in all of cinema, the All Gold Canyon. We’re treated to views of abounding forests, rippling streams, and stunning wildlife. The story is as straightforward as it gets, with a fun twist added to to liven things up, and is the only one with a happy ending, depending on who you ask, that is. Waits is great as the aged and isolated prospector, holding down almost the entirety of the short on his own. If this story doesn’t make you smile, then you’re either a sociopath, or not a fan of Tom Waits.
Harry Melling as "Artist".
James Franco as "Cowboy".
The Girl Who Got Rattled: Love Will Find You on The Oregon Trail
In the fifth story, a young woman (Zoe Kazan) and her brother (Jefferson Mays) head west in attempt to find better life, a common arrangement of the time. The most romantic of the stories, “Girl” focuses on the relationship between Alice (Kazan) and Billy Knapp (Bill Heck), one of the leaders of the caravan. As their journey progresses they grow closer and their love for each other blossoms, but complications arise, and as per usual in the Old West, there is no happy ending in sight. This story is the longest, and you can feel it, but that’s not a bad thing. It allows the Coens to develop the two main characters and their relationship, making the audience actually care about them. This makes the ending all the more heartbreaking, and this emotional tale the most memorable of the six.
The Mortal Remains: A Bleak, Morose, and Side-splitting Metaphor
In the final and shortest of the six vignettes, we get caught in a philosophical conversation between five very different people, all on their way to the same place. We see a poor-mannered trapper (Chelcie Ross), an old god-fearing widow (Tyne Daly), a french gambler (Saul Rubinek), and two English bounty hunters (Jonjo O’Neill, Brendan Gleeson) all sat together in the back of a horse-drawn carriage. Throughout their journey to an unknown location, we see the five discuss the “types” of people there are, in quite a hilarious and bickering manner. Whether they think people are either sinful or upright, dead or alive, or all like ferrets, these people all have one thing in common, although you’ll have to figure out what that is for yourself.
The Coens have hit another home run with this western sextuplet. Whether you want to laugh, cry, or just have something to think about for a while, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is just what the doctor ordered.
5 Cowboy Spurs out of 5.
Meet the Writer!
Kevin Reardon
Kevin Reardon is a senior at Dedham High and the film critic for The Dedham Mirror. When not in school, Kevin can be found in his room watching movies in his basement or working in the meat department at Roche Bros. in Westwood.