One of the reasons I wanted to do this website was because I wanted to explore this era that I feel might be ending soon. The streaming boom, which I largely missed, meant that suddenly filmmakers who previously fought for scraps at the studio table were being indulged on several whims. The Coen Brothers should never have to beg for funding for their work. But in Netflix, they found someone to bankroll what feels like a flight of whimsy from the premiere filmmaking team of their era. Normally, anthology films work with much smaller budgets. While "Buster Scruggs" isn't exactly a Michael Bay spectacle, it's certainly one of the glossiest anthologies you'll ever see.
The first story is that of the title, following a Roy Rogers-esque singing cowboy who destroys everything in his path. Largely comedic, this opener is really one joke - the beloved showy cowboys of yesterday in fancy clothes and good health likely had to be vicious, sadistic killers like Scruggs. He tries to charm and sing his way past every conflict but when that fails, he commits gruesome, appalling acts of violence. Tim Blake Nelson, who plays Scruggs, is one of those Hollywood guys with a dual life. He's played broad idiots in crap movies like "Meet The Fockers" but he's also carved out a role as a writer/director of interesting indie movies as well as sort of a talisman for more intriguing filmmakers. It's amusing to think he was with Edward Norton on the set of "Incredible Hulk", pitching him on the brainy pot comedy "Leaves of Grass" they would shoot together afterwards. Here, Scruggs makes him a matinee songsmith for just a few minutes of Coen bliss.
"Near Algodones" features James Franco as an unlucky bank robber. Like the first segment, it's a crowd pleaser, some of the most outwardly entertaining stuff the Coens have put onscreen in years. Franco gets himself in a few calamitous scraps, indulging in some screwball slapstick avoiding the authorities before the tale's inevitable end. There’s a great bit involving Franco being tied to a tree. The Coens' main character remains Fate, and he’s got eyes on Franco.
"Meal Ticket" features Liam Neeson, another Basic Cable King that prison dudes love. Here, he's transporting a skilled orator and monologuist (Harry Melling) from town to town. Said monologuist requires Neeson's Very Particular Set Of Skills because he has no arms or legs. Neeson, for his part, tenderly cares for the younger man, though you can see his frustration as the crowds for each performance gradually thin. The elegant storytelling is the point, because it becomes clear very soon where this is headed.
"All Gold Canyon" has very little dialogue, sort of a pity considering it stars Tom Waits, here as grizzled and weary as he's ever been — and this is a guy who was grizzled and weary out of the womb. This short finds him as a prospector digging for gold and finding repeated misfortune as a result. If your favorite part of "There Will Be Blood" was the wordless opening, then this will be your favorite chapter.
"The Gal Who Got Rattled" is the plottiest of the group. Zoe Kazan is a frontier woman headed out west with her brother to be a part of an arranged marriage when he is felled dead. Eventually a handsome fellow rider (Bill Heck) opts to be her's. But not before a ruthless attack from a Native American tribe. Grainger Hines, an actor I've never seen before, shines brightest here as a wise wagon train leader.
The final bit, "The Mortal Remains", is a muted affair of a wagon coach carrying a diverse group of explorers with one mysterious corpse on the roof. Like all the segments (and like many other Coen offerings) there are morally inscrutable characters trading quips and stories here. But specifically, this entry is like the others in the film in that it features characters breaking out into song. The opening segment is the only one with a full-out musical erupting (with neat matching choreography) but the other tales all feature someone singing a little ditty sans accompaniment.
Each story is something of a classic Coen tragedy in miniature, so as far as experiments, this is an effective one. It's foolish to break a Coen brothers film into sequences, as if they have something of a talent for the greatest hits. The starkly humorous moments of suspense in "Blood Simple" can't be experienced via YouTube clips, only a full length departure into the dark heart of the narrative. I still remember the broad advertising for "Fargo" to assure success beyond the arthouses, how they tried to break the movie into a series of gags and one-liners that would normally be reserved for Matthew Perry and Jennifer Aniston. So watching a small portion of this film, or even ranking the entries, feels like a pedestrian errand.
To be frank, one of the reasons I started this project was because I wanted to see if I watched more challenging films in a different way. In addition to the primitive experience of incarceration, I spent so long sitting through basic cable blockbusters larded with special effects and ideological emptiness. With the Coens on Netflix for me, I was chopping into steak after years of McDonald's chicken nuggets. Did I lose my discerning nature?
As such, the movie feels frontloaded from a nakedly entertaining sense. The first entry is a loud, violent musical segment. But by the end of the film, we're in a hearse with character actors having long winded conversations. My attention very naturally wavered as the entire piece came to a close. Admittedly that may be the problem with binge watching - as a piece ends, you're ready to consider the next. I'm still learning about this strange new world of streaming. How do you properly enjoy something while the algorhithm waits in the shadows?