Review of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) by Elizåbeth M — 25 Nov 2018

A groundbreaking opus, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a tour de force of the Coen Bros.' tantalizing capacity to twist old tropes and clichà (C)s into something entirely new. With six vignettes depicting characters both expected and surprising, the ultimate absurdity that is life is put on full display, clawing at both our sympathies and revulsion.

Drawing on the deeply dark comedy they embarked on in Fargo and the mystical Americana in Oh Brother Where Art Thou, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs opens windows into the emotionally extreme moments of a group of misfits and outsiders, bringing to mind the works of Edgar Allen Poe and Ernest Hemingway (and in the case of the titular segment, the notorious Looney Tunes).

Without a doubt, this film is an instant classic that brings back to the screen such grand and subtle elements commonly associated with the golden age of cinema.