The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Was it supposed to be a miniseries or not? Netflix rumor mills have said that it was, while the Coen’s are mum on the issue. Regardless, the latest entity from the Coen Brothers is basically an anthology. There are six separate vignettes that don’t connect to each other in any way other than they’re all set in the Old West. So you can watch six mini stories all strung together in a two hour package on Netflix. I actually really liked this and I’m not generally a huge fan of anthologies. I will admit some of the stories were more entertaining than others. The first vignette, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, features Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson) as a gun slinging, singing cowboy. It’s ridiculous in a very Coen esque manner but oddly also very enjoyable. The songs were catchy and it was just kind of fun to watch. The second vignette, Near Algodones, played host to a cowboy (James Franco) who gets into trouble robbing a bank. It combines gruesome scenes with playful scenes, again in a very trademark Coen manner. The third vignette, Meal Ticket, was one of my least favorites despite Liam Neeson (who has a very particular set of skills) being in it. It was just a little bit too long and not as interesting as the first two. All Gold Canyon with Tom Waits followed and it was not my fave either. To be honest you could probably just skip numbers 3 and 4 and feel confident about not missing much. Vignette number five is The Gal Who Got Rattled and this one got the anthology back on track. It’s the first one to feature a female character prominently in the storyline and reminded me of the Oregon Trail computer game. Does anyone remember that game? I always died of dysentery…
Anyways the final vignette, The Mortal Remains, is one long continuous conversation among five people in a stagecoach. With the really good vignettes, you wish they were longer because the characters are interesting and the story is intriguing. With the bad ones, you wish they were much shorter or left out entirely.
Film or Movie: Neither? Anthology
You’ll like this if:
1. You like Westerns
2. You love the Coen brothers
3. You like mini stories
