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LTTP: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018 Coen Brothers film, Netflix) *open spoilers*


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PAN SHOT!

 

While browsing for movies to watch, we were close to picking some kind of mystery movie (1922), but as we browsed, my lady friend goes, "Can you go to Buster Scruggs? His face looks funny." I hovered over it and went, "Holy shit, wait, this is the Coen Brothers????" Then we watched the preview trailer and decided that would be our movie.

 

At first I was confused: the title of the movie is about Buster Scruggs, but his story ends 8 minutes into the movie. I didn't know going in that this was an Anthology when they talked about six stories and thought the six stories were going to be connected. While thematically there are similarities, every character and story are their own thing. So here's some of what we thought of the six stories:

 

 

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs"

 

This one kind of seemed most straight-forward in terms of its story. Buster is an unassuming guy who is not to be trifled with. He's not there to cause trouble, but he'll kick your ass in a heartbeat if you start it. He's also the only guy in the movie who breaks the fourth wall repeatedly. And he also is a little too confident in his abilities.

 

 

"Near Algodones"

 

Loved the camerawork and lighting. The opening shot is lovely.

 

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This is also probably the funniest one for us. The bank teller is a character who is a man who is quintessential Coen Brothers. He's so freaking goofy and colorful despite being in a story with darker elements. 

 

If you have a hard time watching James Franco given what's come out about him, this is one story you can skip, but not due to the quality. By itself, it's a very good short story and has a memorable as hell one-off character.

 

 

"Meal Ticket"

 

Super memorable and also one of the two saddest stories. You know, for the longest time in this story, I thought Liam Neeson's character is actually being good to the young Harrison -- he fed him, he took him out to pee (the man has no arms or legs), etc. etc. But he never actually talks to the boy except to say they're going to a brothel. And then he has him in the room turned around and won't let him do anything.

 

The guy does a billion shows, but that last show was a bust to the point where Harrison doesn't even complete his monologue. Of course, Neeson's character finds that a chicken who can apparently do math is getting all the attention -- classic "low brow entertainment is getting more business than something higher class." So Neeson buys the chicken with a huge wad of money -- which yo, wtf? Then instead of at least giving him away, he straight up throws him off a damned cliff!

 

Hey! That guy got all that business for you even when times were tough, wtf mate? What's worse is that a show like that must have a trick and that any chicken could learn how to "do math."

 

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SLATE.COM

It violates the statutes of man—and not a few of the laws of the Almighty!

 

 

So Neeson's character bought a regular-ass chicken that can't really do math, and he killed the act that actually did have talent. While I'm all for using the imagination, we both wanted to see the guy try and fail to have the chicken do math and get his just desserts.

 

 

"All Gold Canyon"

 

Probably the happiest story so far, lol. And I thought it was going to be sad due to the shooting scene. I gotta say, I'm actually impressed how a story with one guy talking to himself and digging holes can be interesting! But that's what a good actor and good editing can do, now, isn't it? I even like how you root for the guy because he seems to respect the nature around him and feels guilty when the owl is staring at him as he collects eggs and puts all (but one) back. Glad he got the gold at the end. I read an Entertainment Weekly article that said, "How high can a bird count, anyway?" was likely a nod to the previous story and the chicken's talents, which I didn't even think about.

 

And again, this is another story with lovely shots.

 

1*8af_JdHAiO45fLUSu4KHig.jpeg

 

 

"The Gal Who Got Rattled"

 

Lovely girl, perfect gentleman of a guy.... FFFUUU-

 

Wish it turned out better. I was reading reactions to it, and one talked about how the girl is pragmatic in how she goes about her brother's death and debts and what to do on this Oregon Trail. First, the fact that it was Oregon was nice foreshadowing there; you already are thinking about dysentery. When the young man starts helping her, I kept waiting to see if there was something sinister to him, but the guy is a gentleman! We figured he also didn't have the heart to actually put the dog down; while it's not spelled out, we thought he just made up a story of the dog getting away. So when he talks about proposing, it feels right, and it's even better when he tells her something along the lines of, "If you don't accept, I want you to know we'll still be getting you and this wagon train safely to its destination." 

 

All seems good.... unfortunately, she's too good of a listener. :( I remember telling my gf, "I wish she would have peaked out first to make sure!" and she said, "I wish she never went off alone." But she finally seemed genuinely happy! 

 

 

"The Mortal Remains"

 

First, I wish there was a screengrab available of the driver. That shot looked SO. FUCKING. GOOD.

 

Manchess_6-Mortal-Remains.jpg

 

The lighting in the story is both subtle and deliberate. Meaning it's obvious the lighting changes in the story, but it's changing in the background and not with any character or camerawork directly letting you know that it's changed to night. At least that's how I felt after watching it. By the end, it's obvious that it's dark and foreboding, but the transition to it is drawn out, which is cool.

 

I just read a second theory about the story I didn't consider:

 

'An alternate take is that "The Mortal Remains" is actually about Lady (Tyne Daly), who has the only backstory specifically placing her in a stagecoach (she was traveling to meet her husband). The idea is she's alive in the first half of the story, then dies during her choking distress after being goaded by The Frenchman (Saul Rubinek). So The Irishman (Brendan Gleeson) and Englishman reaper team are actually on that coach to collect her specifically. In the moment of her distress, The Englishman is talking to her (doing the distracting) while The Irishman takes her hand (doing the "thumping").'

 

Cool! Our theory was the first one posited, which is they're all dead, which is why no one has baggage, but that's actually a very interesting take as well! It may be the most memorable of all of them and the perfect story to close considering how death was explored in every story.

 

 

Anyway, while I don't feel this is considered top-tier Coen... mid-Coen is excellent anyway, and we're still talking about the individual stories having watched this days ago. It's great and worth a Netflix watch!

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I've actually seen this all the way through four times now. There's something about this movie that just really clicks with me. I find it endearing, beautiful and sometimes really thoughtful. My favorite story would be the Tom Waits Mr. Pocket one. I also love the story and note it ends on. 

 

Anyway, not much negatives from me honestly. For how much they did here, it's a very fine achievement on all fronts as far as I'm concerned. 

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25 minutes ago, Bloodporne said:

I've actually seen this all the way through four times now. There's something about this movie that just really clicks with me. I find it endearing, beautiful and sometimes really thoughtful. My favorite story would be the Tom Waits Mr. Pocket one. I also love the story and note it ends on. 

 

Anyway, not much negatives from me honestly. For how much they did here, it's a very fine achievement on all fronts as far as I'm concerned. 

 

It's a beautiful film; there are individual scenes and shots that are great to admire on their own.

 

I think I needed Mr. Pocket after the first three. I wouldn't consider the first two sad, and some of it is comedic, but the third just made us feel awful for the thespian. He even knows what's going to happen when he sees the Impresario tossing a rock into the river, and he can't do anything about it! 

 

So the story's placement worked well for us, especially considering what followed. Was it our favorite? Our favorite as stories that left an impact were probably 3/5/6, but all were good! I mean, the PAN SHOT guy actually might have made the biggest imprint. :p 

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51 minutes ago, SaysWho? said:

 

It's a beautiful film; there are individual scenes and shots that are great to admire on their own.

 

I think I needed Mr. Pocket after the first three. I wouldn't consider the first two sad, and some of it is comedic, but the third just made us feel awful for the thespian. He even knows what's going to happen when he sees the Impresario tossing a rock into the river, and he can't do anything about it! 

 

So the story's placement worked well for us, especially considering what followed. Was it our favorite? Our favorite as stories that left an impact were probably 3/5/6, but all were good! I mean, the PAN SHOT guy actually might have made the biggest imprint. :p 

So this is down to some serious minutiae but what makes the Mr. Pocket one for me particularly is the visual of the invading gunfighter. He's a very particular looking man facially. Not ugly but he has a certain sinister look about it and I love his face and black, dingy attire juxtaposed with the absolutely pristine, beautiful landscapes. There's also a great calmness to the shooting and overall struggle. No big dramatic music etc., just the quiet nature around them that doesn't give a shit about their petty dispute. 

 

That's not to say the entire film isn't filled with moments like this but that worked particularly well for me. Also kudos to Tom Waits, he did a great job. The only thing I didn't like, to put it mildly, about the movie in general is the John Ford-ish depiction of Native Americans in The Gal Who Got Rattled. 

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