The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Director: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Screenplay: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Stars: Tim Blake Nelson, Clancy Brown, Tyne Daly, James Franco, Stephen Root, Brendan Gleeson, Bill Heck, Grainger Hines, Zoe Kazan, Harry Melling, Liam Neeson, Jonjo O’Neill, Chelcie Ross, Saul Rubinek and Tom Waits.
Tagline: How the West Was Won (more or less)
The Plot…
The Ballad of Buster Scrugs is actually six tales from the post-Civil War west.
- “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” – Buster Scruggs, dressed in white from head to toe, is the fastest gun in the west. He has a wonderful singing voice as well. Buster drifts from town to town never looking for trouble. Trouble is, it always finds him.
- “Near Algodones” – A small bank stands isolated on the prairie. A lone cowboy decides the bank is easy pickins. That decision is going to lead to a series of unexpected events that culminate with the biggest surprise of all.
- “Meal Ticket” – An older man and a young armless and legless man named Harrison travel from frontier town to frontier town in a showman’s wagon. Harrison is a skilled orator. In each town, Harrison recites poetry and dramatic readings for donations. It is a hard life. Maybe there is an easier way to make a living.
- “All Gold Canyon” – An old weathered prospector has traveled deep into the frontier. Despite years of prospecting failure, he is determined to strike gold. And when he does, what could go wrong?
- “The Gal Who Got Rattled” – Alice Longabaugh and her brother Gilbert are part of a wagon train headed to Oregon. There Gilbert says he has a business opportunity waiting. Based on Gilbert’s past business success Alice has her doubts. When Gilbert takes ill and suddenly dies, Alice is left alone. Things take a turn for the best when Billy, the second lead on the wagon train, proposes marriage. Billy is a decent, honest man who had shown an interest in Alice from the journey’s start. Alice thinks that things might turn out for the best. She just needs to have faith.
- “The Mortal Remains” – As a stagecoach barrels along, it’s five passengers get to know each other. The travelers include two bounty hunters, a trapper, a religious woman, and a Frenchman. The group appears to have nothing in common. But they do. Oh, do they ever.
Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was nominated for three Academy Awards…
- Nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
- Nominee for Best Achievement in Costume Design – Mary Zophres
- Nominee for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song) – David Rawlings, Gillian Welch; for “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs for Wings”
Tim Blake Nelson did his own singing and guitar playing. He had to learn to play guitar for the film.
“All Gold Canyon” is based on a story by Jack London. “The Gal Who Got Rattled” inspired by a story by Stewart Edward White.
In “Near Algodones” the bank teller says he gets deposits from Val Verde. Val Verde sounds like a South American country but is a fictional location. Val Verde was a location used in Die Hard, Predator and Commando.
“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” is my favorite of the six segments. It’s a worthy send-up of singing cowboys and early western troupes. A full-length Buster Scruggs prequel would be a blast.
“Near Algodones” has surprising changes in tone. I ike it! We go from traditional western to comedy (“Pan-shot!”) to drama to action to suspense to traditional western to suspense to comedy (“First time?”) to romance to surprise!
“Meal Ticket” – has an ending that is unexpected and shocking.
“All Gold Canyon” – I didn’t recognize Tom Waits who has a nearly one person showcase.
“The Girl Who Got Rattled” – is the closest of the six stories to be a traditional western. But it’s not really.
“The Mortal Remains” – As the story unfolds, you might see it before the characters in the tale.
Many anthology movies falter when their stories vary in quality. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs doesn’t suffer in that respect. Each tale is entertaining.
It was cool how each segment is presented as part of an old book of short western stories. The art that accompanied each segment was perfect as well.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) rates 4 of 5 stars.
