The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

I liked the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit, tho I later learned to prefer the original. This other western has sat on my list for a while; I hesitated because it's only moderately popular and these guys are a gamble to me. Kind of an ugly title, too. But the continuing use of the "First time?" meme increased my curiosity.

Buster (Tim Blake Nelson) actually doesn't appear for long, because this is an anthology of six stories, each with completely different characters and actors (among them Liam Neeson, Tom Waits, James Franco, Stephen Root, Clancy Brown, Tyne Daly, and Brendan Gleeson). Two of them are based on literary short stories. The others seem to pay more homage to movies. Apart from the Old West setting, the main unifying theme is death.

I would not have advised putting the stories in this order, if they all had to be included as they are. The two fairly facetious ones are up front. Two of the others are so tragic that I almost wonder about the point of ending on those notes. The last is gothic, borderline fantasy. Only the last two have any significant roles for women.

My favorite? Possibly "All Gold Canyon," the one with arguably the happiest ending, but I may be biased by having read the Jack London story in school. For sheer pacing and song appreciation, I'd pick the titular story. For emotional complexity, there's "The Gal Who Got Rattled," based on "The Girl Who Got Rattled" by Stewart Edward White.

The R rating is primarily for violence, not always with guns. You might be more disturbed on the occasions when it involves an Indian war party. There's also a brief prostitution scene.

As Coen flicks go, it's not too strange. Mainly just uneven, which describes every anthology I've ever seen. On the plus side, if you don't like a given chapter, you won't have to wait long. You can even fast-forward and easily catch the transition to the next. (I recommend skipping the slow, amoral "Meal Ticket.")

TBoBS is unlikely to be discussed in 30 years, but I didn't mind checking it out. There aren't a whole lot of cinematic western anthologies, after all. You might appreciate it for a change of pace.