The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

7/10

Starring

James Franco

Brendan Gleeson

Zoe Kazan

Liam Neeson

Tim Blake Nelson

Tom Waits

Directed by the Coen brothers

Wow!!!

That is how I felt when I got to the end of this film. This American western anthology film is written, directed, and produced by the Coen brothers. They felt it best to have Netflix finance their movie as all other studios will not dare mount this their fair project.

To be candid this is a masterpiece of a movie, the story telling is engaging at every turn and the brothers love to keep the suspense going as each tale ends in a way you could not have imagined.

Add to that the music included in some of the stories especially the first were just magical and entertaining.

The movie is a collection of six short western stories.

The movie starts with a view of an old book with the title The Ballad of Buster Scruggs and Other Tales of the American Frontier. Then each story kicks off with a picture of a scene in the tale. A hand then appears to turn the page to reveal the story and then we are transported into the pages.

Now Buster Scruggs story is just the first and his tale is about him, going about singing and killing anyone who fails to be homely. His own tale has an ending you will find very amusing.

Then we have to witness a bank robber who just picked the wrong back to rob. He goes in expecting to leave with all the money, but the cashier had more than one screw missing. He stopped the robber and he was arranged to be hung. The hanging did not got as planned and so did everything that followed, the tale ended up in a full circle for our bank robber.

The third tale is titled Meal Ticket, which best describe this tale. A traveler goes about with a performer who has no hands and no legs. The gift of the performer is to be able to recite Shakespare and other wonderful books, Their tale is one I best leave for you to see.

The fourth tale was somehow my second favorite of them all after that of Buster Scruggs. Here we see a man who goes about digging for gold and is very determined in his chase for the gold. It is how his tale ended that is the cool thing of this story.

The fifth tale takes joint second with the forth for me I cannot seem to separate the two. This is a tragedy story of a woman who lost her brother and is finding it hard to get by on her travels. With her is a man who took her under his wings to care for her.

The last tale is the third best, it takes place in a stage coach where five passengers just discourse life and their view of it. It also has beautiful songs.

So The first tale goes in first, very entertaining, then the fourth and fifth take joint second. The Sixth will be fourth, the second tale will be the fifth most entertaining and I very much didn’t fancy Meal Ticket.

Go see this movie on Netflix you will be glad you did.