[Review] The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (8/10)

Title - The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs
Studio - Netflix
Starring - James Franco, Brendan Gleeson, Zoe Kazan, Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, Tom Waits, Bill Heck, Harry Melling
Writer - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Director - Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Release - 16 November 2018

The Coen Brothers are back but this time it is on Netflix. And I can understand why Netflix was the better choice in terms of business decision-making, because this was actually a series of short stories that had a similar theme but the characters were not related from one story to another.

Still, some of the stories (not all) were some of their best work; especially when the Western flavour and style were so strong and in abundance.

Clearly the most obviously impactful one was the longest one, titled "The Gal Who Got Rattled" with Zoe Kazan and Bill Heck. Kazan has to be on her way to becoming more sought after as she was golden here.

However, the segment "The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs" with Tim Blake Nelson was the most fun. Nelson's portrayal was one of his best performances and the surprise elements were so out of the blue that you won't be able to help but laugh out loud.

"Meal Ticket" with Liam Neeson and Harry Melling was deliciously dark and Melling gave such a compelling performance (what a change from his days as the bully-cousin in the Harry Potter franchise). "All Gold Canyon" was all about Tom Waits and his fantastic performance but unfortunately a little forgettable. James Franco's "Near Algodones" was the weakest one but had some good humour in it.

But I would put up another argument that the last segment titled "The Mortal Remains" was the best. The five players here, Brendan Gleeson,  Jonjo O'Neill, Saul Rubinek, Chelcie Ross and Tyne Daly were all so effective playing their parts. And this whole story took place inside the carriage. It's all about the dialogue and the performances, as well as the direction and editing.

Also, the cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel had some of the best shots in cinema this year. Let's see if this will translate into an Academy Award nomination for Delbonnel.

I would have rated this slightly higher but the entirety of the movie just didn't feel like a movie. I was really hoping there would be some kind of relations between each story but there just weren't anything like that. Still, what a great watch this was; and it also felt like reading a really good book of short stories too.