A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Tanmay Shukla
By Tanmay Shukla
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a Western anthology
film directed by Coen brothers. The duration of each chapter varies and so does
their quality. The first two chapters, The
Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Near
Algodonespay pay homage to Leone’s Once Upon a Time in the West and George
Hill’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, respectively. They are thoroughly
entertaining and well executed. The acting, the costumes, the set design and
art work, the music by Coen brothers’ long time collaborator Carter Burwell is
fantastic. Coens also use the extreme wide shots to extreme close ups taking us
back to Leone’s style. The third chapter Meal
Ticket is the weakest. All Gold
Canyon starring Tom Waits is beautifully captured. The last two chapters, The Gal Who Got Rattled and The Mortal Remains, are most Coen-esque
out of all the six.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is not the
most ground-breaking Coen brothers’ film but it retains the quality which we
associate with them—their magical interplay with tones—dark macabre humour,
irony and biting sarcasm. Having said that, it does not belong to the same ball
park as their best films like Fargo, No Country For Old Man, A Serious Man et
al. Coens’ masterful direction and execution of their artistry and craftsmanship
in this film is unblemished and seamless which draws our attention even when
the plot plods along in some chapters. The magnificent landscape of the Wild
West is beautifully captured and composed by Bruno Delbonnel. The music, editing,
acting and art work—period details in costume and production is astonishingly
rich and beautiful.
The six chapters are wildly different from
each other which is fine. What prevents The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs from reaching
the heights is that it fails to deliver on its exceptional premise and the
weakest chapters are the longest which kills the pace and interest garnered by
the two fascinating chapters in the beginning which raise the bar a big too
high for the rest. The parts don’t blend together into a cohesive whole and
only the most ardent fans of the Coen brothers will enjoy it to the fullest.
Largely, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is about
death. The world of the West is dangerous and deadly and savage. The feeling of
absurdity hanging over the oeuvre of Coen brothers explosively emerges (like it
did in A Serious Man) in their latest film because it’s done not once or twice
but six times. When it’s good, it’s rapturous. When it’s plodding, the stunning
visuals and wonderful soundtrack makes sure you don’t look at your watch.
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