Reviews

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Although this film may be disliked by some viewers, I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully shot and cleverly written piece by the Coen Brothers. The lack of linear narrative and multiple mini stories to create on jumble of fractures storylines made it more resonate with me because of this attempt to stray from the dramatic conventions of film. It's classic Coen brothers, gore paired with a fantastic music score, comprising unconventional musical elements, with Buster Scruggs singing capabilities, making it inspiring in its ability to connote that there is no need to stick to the traditional film customs. They break the rules. One example of this is at the beginning of 'Fargo' where text appears saying "This film is based on a true story" even though there are none present in the film. When asked why they put the statement up, Ethan said "because we always wanted to make film that started like that."

The first story, based on Buster Scruggs himself, to me felt like a justified micky take of the traditional Western genre. His clothing, singing, guitar and impossible shooting capabilities were enjoyable to watch, and submersed the viewer in the world we were about the be open up to , even if said world was exaggerated and dramatized to make a point. His untimely death and cheesy send off into heaven, made this more of a classic Coen piece, ending right there, with uncertainties of what was to happen next . Bruno Delbonnel's cinematography is spectacular particularly in this opening with open desolate expanses of the desert, making the onscreen character and myself feel small in contrast with the baron setting. The ECU shots of Buster himself, wide angled shots of the desert and tracking shots make this long, and in some peoples opinion but not my own, tiresome intro ambiguous to the meaning and direction of the film. The colour pallet of these few minutes alone is inspirational. So, the main character is dead, what next? We now find our self tailing a bank robber (James Franco) who has somehow miraculously escaped his death by hanging, a usual trope of Western films. Oh wait, no, he's dead. This film is relentless in its capability to not let you lounge on the sofa and watch with one eye on the screen and one on your phone. It holds your eyeline with a severe grip, not letting the viewer become bored with one story, by plunging you into another. By this point, it seemed the theme that connects these chaacters, is their chance to survive "life" and weas the viewer, begin to care...

The third story of this rollercoaster of a film is entitled, Meal Ticket. At this point, I knew that one of the main characters in the plot would be killed, but the question is which one and how? Do I get attached to this character? The dark comedy and wit of the first two stories had been ditched for this story, and replaced with dark poignant poetry. I was profoundly moved by the spectacle of the performing quadriplegic child-prodigy exploited by an unnamed villain (Liam Neeson), making a living off of having the captive young man Harrison recite passages from the Old Testament, William Shakespeare, British Romantic poetry, and the speeches of Abraham Lincoln. Other than these recited works, the piece lacks dialogue, and mostly follows his cruel and empty life, travelling from place to place. His unfortunate handicap means that when his master becomes invested in a rival's more profitable attraction of a novelty chicken, he is, or so the audience is lead to believe, tossed into a deep dark canyon. The bleakness of this piece and lack of redeeming quality with second chances, made it so very poignant, and will stay with me for a long time afterwards. Once again, the Coen brothers have shown to disregard the need for cushioning and adhering to the audiences emotions, and have killed off the textbook definition of a vulnerbale character.

The next stories followed the same path, death and destruction at the hands of unimaginable consequences. Strained relationships, lack of relationships isolation and more death. To me, the most cinematically impressive part of the film was in story four, "All Gold Canyon" and story five "The Gal Who Got Rattled". All Gold Canyon was somewhat relatable, even due to its unprecedented gore and harsh reality. After all his hard work of scavenging, researching and digging, to be stabbed in the back (or shot in his case) at the very height of his life, having found a literal gold mine, would resonate with many viewers. However, unlike the other stories, the character does in fact get his revenge, brutally killing his own murderer. I loved the storyline, the slow and quick paced script with sparse speech, and the exquisite shots of the sublime landscape, greens blues and arching mountains. This is much the same with story five, but a stark contrast in setting, instead returning to baron deserts and aching landscapes. Unfortunately, I did find the last story too hard to follow, with a lack of scene change and long dialogue. I did go back and watch it again and was able to follow it more clearly, but unfortunately this just didn't hit the spot for me. However, all I have is praise for this beautifully filmed, well written and captivating film, that breaks the boundaries of film making and doesn't disappoint visually. The Coen brothers wanted to bring back the Western genre, and they have.

The Machinist

the use of mirrors in this scene conveys somewhat of a double personality, used in other films like Shutter Island to connote a mirrored persona. In Trevor's case, a loss of identity after a dreadful accident thus creates a double illusion of himself in the form of Ivan, the darkest projection of himself.

One film that struck a chord with me during quarantine, was Brad Anderson's The Machinist. Released in 2004, The Machinist is a psychological horror, starring Christian Bale (looking very different from his previous films having lost sixty-two pounds for the role) whose insomnia and psychological problems leads to a serious workplace accident involving one of his co-workers. After Reznik is fired, he goes into a downward spiral of paranoia and delusion, conveying how far guilt can manipulate and deteriorate ones internal morals and perceptions. When watching this film, I couldn't help but parallel it with Alfred Hitchcock's work, with grainy footage, driving scenes symbolising that in Psycho, and mysterious unsettling imagery that isn't further explored (the substance dripping from the fridge). Although the plot of this film is similar to that of other 2000 cult films, such as Fight Club and Memento, it does create an identity of it's own. This film wasn't created for the screaming fans of Hollywood (with Anderson being denied funding from America, so having to go to Spain to make the movie how he wanted), or to create truck loads of cash for Anderson, it was made to shock and defy the limits that actors should go to in order to fulfil a role. It's an urban nightmare that sticks with you long after the credit role.

The use of symbolism throughout this film is impeccable, and to be truly commemorated must be watched twice. Much like in film like Memento, the use of onscreen imagery and symbols hints to the audience some kind of answer to the confusing yet masterfully clever plot. For example, the use of bleach. Trevor constantly washes his hands and the bathroom floor, with bleach. Initially, I though this as due to his inability to sleep, so he turned his mind to obsessive cleaning to keep him busy. However, I see it now in a metaphorical sense, bleach is used to remove stains that cannot be cleaned with normal detergent. Hence, Trevor cleans his hands to remove himself of the guilt and blood of killing Nicholas. Adding on, the use of fish throughout the film is used to symbolise Christianity. When Trevor becomes engulfed in his mission to find "Ivan" (a hallucination of his own guilt), he forgets to pay his water and electric bill. This means a strange blood like liquid drips form his fridge freezer. This is in fact a large fish, that he caught on a trip with his brother. This resembles Trevor's "forks in the road" that he comes across throughout the film. He chooses the dark path every time, which means he falls further and further into chaos. This is connoted in my favourite scene in the film, the carnival ride. When riding with Nicholas (again a figment of his imagination) they approach two paths on the ride, one going to heaven, ad the other to hell. Nicholas chooses hell, and the series of imagery that follows deeply troubles Trevor. This connotes how although Trevor's memory repression is trying to forget his past, it still clinges to him.

One of the biggest uses of symbolism is the use of mirrors. In the scene above, Anderson alludes to somewhat of a double personality, a technique used in other films like Shutter Island to connote a mirrored persona. This is similar for Trevor's case. He experiences a loss of identity after a dreadful accident, which thus creates a double illusion of himself in the form of Ivan, the darkest projection of himself. This projection teases and follows him throughout the duration of the film. In the first act, he is responsible for the horrific accident where Trevor works, in the second act Trevor chases him in a red car. A small detail I only noticed when watching the second time, is treat the number plate of Ivan's car- 743 CRN- is the mirror of his own- NRC 347. This small detail was a tease from Anderson, foreshadowing the climax of the film in act three. After finding Ivan and killing him, Trevor conveys his hate for himself. In his murdering of his projection, he conveys his inner most hatred for himself, and what he has done, even though he is unaware of this at the time. The last moment of the film connotes him finally figuring out the "puzzle" in regards to the hangman post it note that has mysteriously found itself on his fridge door. It spells out "KILLER". It is at this point the memories flood back. After a year of torment and unfathomable guilt, Trevor turns himself in, and is shot sleeping for the first time in his prison cell.

This film is by far one of the most interesting, captivating and heart wrenching films I have seen in a long time. The beautiful performance by Bale of the guilt manifested character of Trevor is by far some of the most brilliant acting I have witnessed in a long time. Although this may not be a conventional horror film, with no jump scares or perhaps uninventive plot lines, I do believe it is one to add to your watch list. The cinematography is calculating and cold, with a brilliant grim colour palette throughout. The use of symbolism is flawless with an impeccable script. Some reviews say the physical appearance of Bale is too much of a turn of due to his dramatic weight loss, but I believe it is the sign of a truely committed actor. The plot may to some seem to "plod" along a bit, but I believe the pace and many plot twists are needed to make this film. This piece should be up with the likes of Fight club and Se7en as one of the most influential pieces to come out of the early 2000's.