So what’s with all the anthology films of late?! First this, then Wes Anderson did a couple. I’m sure there are more that I can’t think of right now, although I’m not all that clued up on recent releases. Anthologies are no bad thing, of course, as you get multiple films for the price of one!
Bargain, mate. Bargain.
In a possibly-negative light, one could compare The Coen Brothers to the aforementioned Wes Anderson and perhaps also Woody Allen and Tim Burton, in that you pretty much know what you’re going to get when you pay for your ticket. Therefore, in my mind, there’s no rush to see their work. But you know you’ll get around to them eventually. Well, perhaps not Tim Burton, as his gaudy disasters have apparently put some people off watching films altogether. Or even just having the ability of sight itself!
A little melodramatic of me, but I’m sure you get the idea.
The life of a movie buff is a complicated one nowadays. If there’s something you want to watch, you first have to go to IMDb, find the listing of the film you desire, click on “Company Credits” from the “All topics” tab, then scroll down to the list of the film’s distributors. This is not an exaggeration, as I now do this every time something grabs my interest. Otherwise I simply wouldn’t know where in the hell the film is available, thanks to the dizzying amount of streaming outlets. A certain streaming service beginning with “N” is pushing The Ballad of Buster Scruggs hard. If you search for a title and they don’t have it, the first alternative they offer you is this. I don’t know where I’m going with this, but, after only being signed up to said streaming service for a week, I’m sick of seeing the poster art for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs already.
First world problems, am I right?!
Hmm, is that even politically correct anymore? I’m sure it’s not, as what is these days?! Do let me know if and what I need to change it to and I probably won’t bother.
Anyway, when I sat down to watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs this morning, I knew nothing about it. Not being in the mind for any film in particular, this was a great opportunity to try out a wild card! Was this going to be one of the Coens’ fun genre pictures, or one of their punishing exercises in depth of human misery?! I’d say it’s a little of both, whilst veering slightly to the latter. But I didn’t know this at the time, as the title sounded light-hearted to me, so I pressed play.
Then fucking Tim Blake Nelson started singing.
Sigh.
So very close was I to backing out and going for my bath instead. But I thought: “Come on, Jim, he’s not that bad. And maybe he’s just the narrator for other goings on involving less irritating actors!”. And so I persevered. Fortunately so, as it didn’t take long for me to find out that this was, in fact, a series of vignettes set in the Old West.
I do wonder whether the brothers set out to make an anthology, or whether they simply had a collection of unfinished screenplays or excised scenes from previous works that they felt would all work together, albeit apart. There’s probably an interview with them or trivia information online somewhere that would confirm or deny this, but who honestly has the time?!
Usually, because my withering eyesight now precludes me from being able to read opening credits, I usually hop over to my laptop and check the cast and crew list online, with the help of my trusty magnification software. Well, not my software, as it comes as standard nowadays, but I really couldn’t figure out how to construct the previous sentence better. Where was I?! Oh yes! But with The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, I decided to play a little game. Being familiar the stable of actors The Coen Brothers usually put in their films, similar to the practices of Wes Anderson and Woody Allen and Tim Burton (I’m not going anywhere in continually mentioning them, so don’t get excited), would I be able to recognise them in a film that is surely to bury their faces under period makeup and costumes?
Well, as it turns out, the brothers cast for the characters and not professional courtesy this time.
So, as far as I could tell, there’s no Francis McDormand, no Steve Buscemi, no John Turturro or Goodman, no George Clooney, no Jeff Bridges, and not a single Josh Brolin anywhere to be seen or heard.
RIP Jon Polito.
Actually, I did think Brad Pitt had turned up in the Gal Who Got Rattled segment, but that was somebody else.
Who did I recognise then?! Well, apart form the obvious Nelson, I caught Clancy Brown (unusual, really, as he’s so good at transforming himself!), Liam Neeson (he just needed to groan meaningfully and I knew it was him!), Tyne Daly (still full of vigour and sex appeal at 72!), and Brendan Gleeson (looking rather gaunt, so I dearly hope the chap is alright!). I’m sad I missed the great Stephen Root and Tom Waits, but relieved I did miss the dreary James Franco.
Yes, we get it, you look like James Dean.
Now let’s all move along.
I’m amazed I managed to take a break halfway through The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, as it is very engaging indeed. I stopped during The Gal Who Got Rattled, as, having been lured into the sweet romance on display, I knew something tragic was looming. I shan’t say much more, but I’m glad I gathered my emotional strength with a short kitty nap to take on the eventual challenge.
Similar to how I described Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, The Balled of Buster Scruggs feels almost beyond criticism. A professional film reviewer once said, I paraphrase, that in a perfect world, every film would be made by The Coen Brothers. I personally wouldn’t go that far, as sometimes their mannered dialogue wears me down, but that alternate universe certainly would be a good place to start. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs encapsulates a bountiful range of human emotions in its quirky little tales: joy, loneliness, grief, amusement, fear, revulsion, and confusion. Whatever the Coens wanted to say with this film for sure, I do not know, but it feels like a meditation on the uncertainty of life. Funny really, as a couple of years after the film’s release, the phrase “uncertain times” would be used in the media to tiresome effect.
Hmm, what else do I have to say?! Oh yes, Harry Melling and Zoe Kazan both captured my heart with their meek characters and worried expressions. The final segment baffled the hell out of me, but I’m guessing it was supposed to (I’m sure it’s a biblical allegory or some such bollocks). I’m glad the brothers have found a new cinematographer, as I always find Roger Deakins’ lighting much too sharp for my taste. I’m sure he’s a lovely fellow though.
And I think that’s it! I wasn’t too sure I’d actually have much to say about The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, but it seems I’ve done pretty well. I’m just curious now to see if we get anymore anthologies by other filmmakers.
I wonder what a segment about me and my sad little adventures would be called?!
Don’t answer that.
But do stay in touch, darlings.
Toodles!
No comments:
Post a Comment