The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

What Tristan said:

You should watch Buster Skruggs because it’s a movie that’s done in a format that isn’t very common: several short stories that are completely unrelated to each other except that they are all quirky and they are all western style. It’s odd in the sense that it takes itself seriously as a movie, but it’s also clearly an homage to the spaghetti westerns of the 50’s and 60’s… almost to the point of parody.

Mike’s verdict:

I let an unusual amount of time pass between watching The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and actually starting to writing my review.  Initially I thought I was holding off because I needed to let it all sink in – after all, it’s really six movies and surely that means more to consider.  But eventually I realized that I was actually just putting off the review because in spite of, or more likely because of, the range of stories caused my thoughts to be muddled. I couldn’t decide if I liked the film, disliked the film, or if I was actually completely indifferent.

So I switched tactics.  Instead of thinking about this film as a film, I started thinking about it as a short anthology – a bunch of works collected under a single name, but tied together only by the fact that someone happened to think they should be together.  And that did it. I realize now that I was having trouble precisely because I was trying to fit all of the stories into a single entity the way that Joel and Ethan Coen have, while at the some time not actually believing they should be in such a group. I liked some of the stories and I didn’t like others, but above all, I don’t believe they make a cohesive film. So to make things fair, I’m going to give each of them a vignetted review with a rating and take the average for an overall score.

Vignette 1: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs – the eponymous episode is one of the better ones. Between the singing and the satisfyingly obvious climax, it’s enjoyable.  Just the right amount of fun, and not too serious.  My only complaint is that the singing cowboy carries a guitar instead of a banjo; a sadly missed opportunity. 8/10

Vignette 2: Near Algodones – the first let-down story, this episode felt like it was supposed to be something more.  I can appreciate the ‘unlucky man’, but I need more time to develop sympathy for him.  An unsavory character that comes to an unsavory end just isn’t interesting on his own.  I will give extra credit for the banker though, he’s pretty funny. “Pan shot!” 5/10

Vignette 3: Meal Ticket – I did not like this episode, partly because of the way it ends but mostly because I think that Harry Melling‘s talent is wasted in it. His theatrical recitals are fantastic, but they’re overshadowed by gimmick and shock. 3/10

Vignette 4: All Gold Canyon – finally another good episode, probably my favourite of the series. It actually felt the least like a parody, had a character I could cheer for, and exactly the right ending.  I’d watch a sequel to this one. 10/10

Vignette 5: The Gal Who Got Rattled – my second favourite episode, this is the only one that felt like it could support a feature-length movie on its own. It has mystery, drama, a little action, and a sad ending. 9/10

Vignette 6: The Mortal Remains – I openly admit to not understanding this episode. I kept waiting to for the story to start, and then it was over. Bonus points for an interesting ensemble of characters, but I wish they’d been used in a proper narrative. 4/10

Overall, I think that Tristan’s description of the film is spot-on; it is definitely a bunch of unrelated stories that are quirky parodies of spaghetti westerns. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s enough to justify more than two hours of my night. I really could have lived without ever seeing half of these vignettes.  Most movies have highs and lows, but very few swing so widely as to feel disjointed.  In this case the sections are obviously meant to be entries on their own, in the same way that Black Mirror episode stand alone.  But clumping the vignettes together into a single film didn’t work.

Final score: 6.5/10