The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

I really wasn’t in the mood for a western, but this certainly exceeded my limited expectations; in a series of 6 novellas in movie form, the Coen brothers find some beautiful cinematic lyricism, laughs, and some poignant portrayals. The cinematic chapters don’t come across as light-hearted, yet only in reflection does one realize they all circle around death, but do so in an even-handed way with beautiful cinemaphotography and a few chuckles mixed in. The Coen brothers do even more verbal gymnastics than usual, digging deep into the lexicon for some souped up dialog and literary like diversion.

The last two chapters could have been edited a bit for me, but overall the presentation and content is quite endearing and original. The visual presentation is striking with a few cool little effects for extra emphasis. The chapter-by-chapter presentation of separate short stories all placed in the west was enjoyable, as was the diverse and talented cast with one or two “name” actors featuring in each. I wouldn’t take much from the title, the content is very diverse, all with wry observations on human foibles, entanglements, and longing. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Thumbs up for the Coen brothers !

Peace @ClumsySilverDad

https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2018/11/19/the-six-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-shorts-ranked/#30f218e7789a