There’s no way we would be missing this latest film by the Coen brothers, especially one that’s so much fun. This is one those films that seems like it’s a personal vanity project, possible only because the brothers are now so successful and well known that they can make pretty much anything they want. It’s incredible how the brothers are the farthest thing from being complacent in their success and keep trying new things. The wonder of it is that they make it all work and it’s fiendishly good.
This is an anthology film consisting of six separate stories, all of which are Western-themed, but each quite different. The title refers to the first of the stories about a singing cowboy who skillfully and cheerfully deals with all challengers. Though there is violence and death, the tone is comedic and light. As my wife notes however, the tone gets darker and less funny in the later stories. Meal Ticket is terribly tragic story about a travelling impresario who relies on an armless and legless orator to make a living. The final story is pure horror about travellers in a horse carriage who hold a spirited discussion about judging and classifying people. But it’s easy to guess from the dark color palette and grim conversation that it’s really a psychopomp story about a possibly literal journey into the afterlife.
As expected from the Coen brothers, every story is beautiful and perfectly put together. It’s also fun to see famous performers in these small roles and I especially appreciated Harry Melling, best known for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films, for a totally devastating performance as the orator who is eloquent when telling stories but never speaks out for himself. Whether light and cheery or dark and tragic, I love that the film goes for a vivid, hyper-real look. All Gold Canyon about a valley so beautiful that it feels touched by the hand of God demonstrates this wonderfully. The effect is not to tell real stories but to forge a kind of mythology set in the West. So we have cowboys and Indians, settlers travelling along the famous Oregon Trail, gold prospectors and the like. The fairy tale tone that they take helps blunt the historical criticisms since it’s meant to be real, making it easier to see them just as entertaining, creative stories.
Quite apart from its technical and artistic merits, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is also notable as being a high profile film made by well known directors and distributed mostly on Netflix. It did have a limited theatrical run to ensure that it qualified for awards and such but most people who watched it did so at home. Since we watch all of the films that I write about here at home that hardly makes a difference to us but as the Coen brothers themselves note, they did make it with a big screen in mind and some of the visual details and intended effects are lost on a smaller one. Also this makes it impossible to judge how well the film did commercially and Netflix doesn’t release figures on how many people actually watched it. Whether you like it or not, it marks a fundamental shift in the film industry.
Not all of the stories in this anthology are great. Near Algodones starring James Franco for example is good for a couple of chuckles and that’s it. Even The Mortal Remains is arguably all atmosphere and not much substance. But it’s damn fine storytelling and enjoyable to watch and that’s good enough for me.