Next up in reviews of Oscar-nominated films, guest writer Jordan Lynn Maitlen has a look at Netflix and the Coen Brother’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
“Pan-shot!”
~The Banker
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a series of 6 western stories wrapped into a full length movie directed by the Coen Brothers, who did The Big Lebowski, Fargo, and O Brother, Where Art Thou? To my knowledge, their True Grit remake is their only other western, so I was surprised that I liked this about as much as that.
If you’ve been following the Coen brothers filmography, you know what to expect: Random ending(s) and strange characters in odd stories. This movie is literally Joel and Ethan doing what they do best.
I personally enjoyed the fifth story the most (The Gal Who Got Rattled). That one was just some solid drama and character study. Zoe Kazan was great in it. The fourth story (Old Gold Canyon) stuck out to me because Tom Waits is fantastic, and he acts his butt off for the entire 20 minute he’s on screen. The sixth and final story (The Mortal Remains) is fascinating too. That one feels very much like an old book and the characters are very well put together and acted, which I would say is also the case for the other stories.
The first story in particular had me laughing uncontrollably. The humor was dark and the story a little preposterous in the best way possible. I still have that song stuck in my head! The second and third stories didn’t strike me as hard as the rest but they were still quite interesting and quick.
This movie visits themes of the Coen brothers that we have seen before and does so compellingly well. In fact, I would say it’s the most “Coen” movie I have seen by them. I let this sit with me for about a day and realized that I loved it quite a bit, which is why I’m giving it a light 9/10. Am I overrating it? Probably just a little, but I love Joel and Ethan Coen, and if you enjoy their filmography and stories, this one should not be missed!
Jordan Lynn Maitlen reviews movies every month, find more of his writing on instagram at am_jordan_98.