Leave it to Joel and Ethan Coen to come up with a film that’s different, as they have with “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs," shown at the 2018 New York Film Festival prior to its commercial release. They have created a half dozen Western tales, presented as if based on a book, which is fictional and evidence of the extensive imagination shown by the Coen brothers.
The first episode makes it seem as if we are entering a blaze of satire. It is an often rollicking look at a singing cowboy, The Kid, played by Tim Blake Nelson. He is fast on the trigger, and when he walks into a bar, watch out. Nelson is extremely amusing in the role, and the Coens have come up with a gunplay variety, including one that is a particular hoot.
But the leading hilarity gives way to a mix, some of it also funny, but other portions serious, wistful or tragic. The Coens show storytelling command throughout as they spin tales set in the atmosphere of old west. The casting is smart too.
James Franco is Cowboy, who robs banks, which gets him into deadly trouble. In another episode, very sad, Liam Neeson runs touring show exploiting a deformed man who draws spectators. But when would-be customers turn their attention to another attraction, the impresario switches gears at the expense of his former lure.
Among the many cast members are Zoe Kazan, Tyne Daly, Brendan Gleeson, Jefferson Mays, Bill Heck, Granger Hines and Saul Rubinek. The segments vary in length, and at times one may wish the brothers had shortened the 132-minute opus.
There’s a section titled “The Mortal Remains,” consisting mostly of a stagecoach ride. Those assembled may make you think of the John Ford classic, “Stagecoach,” and I particularly enjoyed Tyne Daly as a passenger with a mission as she rides along with others and the talk becomes intense.
The effect of seeing this latest Coen film is like having gone back in time for a trip prompting thoughts about what made American westerns so unique, yet also standing as a hip modern take on it all from the perspective of two movie buffs who enjoy being different. A Netflix release. Posted November 8, 2018. `