Review of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) by Ahmedaiman99 — 22 Nov 2018

"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs".

It has no shortage of the Coens' idiosyncratic dark humor and quirkiness. Maybe this why this story is what I liked the most among the others. From the opening sequence I got O Brother, Where Art Thou? vibes thanks to the amazing song Cool Water which is performed by Tim Blake Nelson who stars this first segment, and delivering an incredibly energetic performance which is, in my opinion, the best performance of this pleasant anthology film. The visual effects didn't only serve the humorous nature of the story, but also suited the fantastical quality the story has. The moral of the story is what I didn't hundred percent like. Sure, there's a good message here, but it's also a well-worn one. I was about to ignore that as the over-the-top violence, and the hilarious death sequences kept me thoroughly entertained, but it's the ending that made the message feels corny. Not because the ending was poorly executed, but because there was nothing in it to make the message seems fresh, except the gorgeous-looking ending scene.(9/10).

"Near Algodones".

One one hand, this story has the most complex message compared to the rest of the stories. In contrast with its predecessor, the great, profound moral of the story is what made it truly shines, not the visuals, nor the visual humor. The humor comes from the irony in the character arc; the movie subverts the idea of fate not by avoiding it, but rather by giving the audience a space to make their assumptions. As a result, Near Algodones is the segment that is most responsible for linking all the other segments together, and therefore making the entire movie feels consistent. James Franco is as appealing as usual, giving a performance that has the grittiness of his performance in 127 Hours, and the gleefulness he usually brings with his charming on-screen presence.On the other hand, and also in contrast with "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", this segment is utterly soulless and flavorless. Pretty much everything from what I mentioned above I felt that I've appreciated more than enjoyed. The dark humor undoubtedly didn't work as much as it should due to that, but the problem I had with this story is that I didn't find it as entertaining and vivid as it tried to be, or as it easily should have been. Everything should have made the movie engrossing, yet the wishy-washy narrative structure, and the prompt shifts from a scene to another offered a fair amount of glimpses and flashes of glimmer which, at least, I have grasped and sensed behind the colorlessness that prevailed the movie.(8/10).

"Meal Ticket".

This is without a doubt the most underwhelming story of the six; simply, because how much I was invested in the characters, especially Harry Melling's character, the Artist, and how much I was enjoyed with Liam Nesson's presence, yet how achingly disappointing the ending was. After some of the most interesting minutes I had watching the movie, the Coens ended this mostly entertaining story with nothing more than a commentary on the predatory nature of show business that neither offered something new and smart enough to be biting, nor ended the segment in a fulfilling way.The story also suffered from repetition that made me feel that it should have been shorter, but I have to admit that most of the run time was spent in enriching the two main characters, and hence making them more interesting. Alas, all what we knew about the characters didn't pay off at the end.(7/10).

"All Gold Canyon".

Aside from some boring repetitive scenes that stretched the run time without avail, this is the most story that absorbed me. Tom Waits gave a soulful and honest performance that is more than enough to make you root for him until the last second. It's not only the sympathetic protagonist that made it difficult for me to take my eyes out of the screen throughout the entire segment, but it's also the way this Venice Award winning screenplay kept shattering my expectations over and over.(9/10).

"The Gal Who Got Rattled".

Featuring two of the best performances in the entire movie from Zoe Kazan and Bill Heck, this gritty themes tale is decidedly stands out from the rest with its quite complex story, well-developed plot, and endearing characters that managed to make it riveting and thought-provoking all at once. Alas, it feels overlong, and hence boring sometimes. For it has a long build-up that, in a similar way to most of the other segments, has a hugely frustrating end.(7.5/10).

"The Mortal Remains".

This is the only section that I didn't like. Although it has a remarkable Gothic atmosphere, and a Tarantinoesque dialogue, the heavy-handed way of symbolism made this segment somewhat off-putting. But, fortunately, it's the end that was sabotaged the most by the ostentatious use of metaphors. So I was in fact engaged for quite some time due to the smart dialogue, and the top-notch performances.