Written, produced, edited, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a collection of stories set in the American West as it play into the many adventures of misadventures of people in the West. The film is an anthology film of sorts that play into six different stories relating to the West. Starring Tim Blake Nelson, Tyne Daly, James Franco, Tom Waits, Zoe Kazan, Harry Melling, Liam Neeson, and Brendan Gleeson. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a majestic yet whimsical film from the Coen Brothers.
Set in the American West, the film follow six different stories in the American West as it all relates to the themes of death as well as people’s encounter with it. All of which is told in a book about these tales of the West and these characters as they encounter with some idea of death. In The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a cowboy arrives into town singing songs as he also disposes challengers through gunfights while also commenting about the ideas of humanity where he meets a new challenger. Near Algodones is about a bank robber is attacked by the bank’s clerk where pots and pans where he’s later knocked out and captured by a mysterious man in black only for the day to get weirder following an attack by the Comanche, an encounter with a drover, and all sorts of bad shit in one strange day. Meal Ticket revolves around an impresario travels through the cold West with his performer in a young legless/armless artist who recites poetry, stories, and other texts where they endure a declining audience and lack of money prompting the impresario to find a new act.
All Gold Canyon, that is based on a story by Jack London, is about a prospector arrives on a mountain valley to find gold as he dwells into the land to find gold where he makes a discovery but also another one that is far more deadly. In The Gal Who Got Rattled that is inspired by story by Stewart Edward White, a young woman is on the Oregon Trail with her dim-witted older brother who dies suddenly of cholera where she befriends a train leader who is sympathetic to her plight as he thinks about having a future with her once the trail ends. The Mortal Remains is about five different people traveling on a stagecoach as tension arises during the journey as they all tell their own views while dealing with the fact that there’s a dead body on top of the stagecoach as some wonder why. These six different stories play into themes that play into the danger and uncertainty of the West as well as the realities of a world that is ever-changing.
The direction of the Coen Brothers definitely owe a lot to Westerns of the past but also provide their own visual language in the film as it relates to the presentation of the different stories in the film. Each story opens with a picture in the book and closes with the last page of that story as it’s told through a book as it would then cut to a landscape as many of the film’s locations are shot in the Nebraskan Panhandle, New Mexico, and Telluride in Colorado. The Coen Brothers’ direction would have these gorgeous wide shots of certain locations where they also create these striking compositions that add to the beauty whether it’s a shot of a man about to be hanged or a certain location in the valley. While there are comical elements in these stories with the titular story being the most comical of them all as it’s partially a musical. The rest range into elements of dark comedy as it relates to the theme of death as it play into the sense of melancholia and changing times of the West that is evident in stories such as Meal Ticket and The Gal Who Got Rattled as the former is largely dramatic and minimalist in its story while the latter is more about this uncertainty on the Oregon Trail.
Serving as editors under the Roderick Jaynes pseudonym, the Coen Brothers’ approach to the editing help add to not just the drama but also humor with its usage of jump-cuts and dissolves along with rhythmic cuts in certain aspects of the film. Most particularly in All Gold Canyon where the prospector (Tom Waits) is digging holes trying to find gold along with the montage of the artist in Harrison (Harry Melling) reciting famous texts to the growing declining audience in Meal Ticket. The usage of close-ups and medium shots are evident in The Mortal Remains as it is shot largely inside the stagecoach to play into the dramatic tension as well as the sense of intrigue of where the five passengers are going. It is the Coen Brothers playing into the dangers of the American West as they definitely show violent moments that are graphic as it add to the specter of death. Overall, the Coen Brothers craft an evocative yet offbeat film about six strange tales in the American West.
Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its usage of natural lighting for some of the exteriors in the daytime along with the usage of tints and filters for some interior scenes along with shots set at night or in the evening as it’s a highlight of the film. Production designer Jess Gonchor, with set decorator Nancy Haigh plus art directors Steve Christensen and Chris Farmer, does amazing work with the look of the buildings that some of the characters go to including the saloons as well as the stagecoach and wagons for some parts of the film. Costume designer Mary Zophres does fantastic work with the costumes as it play into the period of the times from the shiny look of the titular character to the rougher and ragged look of other cowboys as it’s a highlight of the film.
Makeup effects supervisor Robin Myriah Hatcher does terrific work with the look of the characters with the artist being the most notable as well as a few passengers on the stagecoach. Visual effects supervisors Michael Huber and Alex Lemke do excellent work with the visual effects where it does do bits of set-dressing in some parts while doing its best work on the look of the artist. Sound editors Craig Berkey and Skip Lievsay do superb work with the sound as it help play into the atmosphere of the locations as well as how gunfire and such sounds during a few gun battles in the film. The film’s music by Carter Burwell is incredible for its rich and bombastic musical score that feature some flourishing string arrangements along with elements of folk and country music to play into the air of the times.
The casting by Ellen Chenoweth is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from E.E. Bell as a piano saloon player, Tom Proctor as a Cantina bad man, and David Krumholtz as a saloon Frenchman in the titular segment while Jesse Luken as the drover and Ralph Ineson as the Man in Black are terrific in their brief appearances in Near Algodones. In the titular opening segment, the performances of Clancy Brown as the gambler Curly Joe, Willie Watson as a young gunslinger, and Tim Blake Nelson as the titular character are great with Nelson being a jovial and engaging individual who sings about his exploits while being a great gunslinger. In Near Algodones, Stephen Root is fantastic as the bank teller who is more than prepared for a bank robbery while James Franco is superb as the robber who finds himself in dangerous situations. Liam Neeson and Harry Melling are incredible in their respective roles as the impresario and the artist named Harrison in the Meal Ticket segment with Neeson being largely silent as a man trying to make money while Melling displays a charisma through the things he says.
Tom Waits is brilliant as the prospector trying to find gold in All Gold Canyon while Sam Dillon is wonderful in his small role as a young man trying to rob the prospector. In The Girl Who Got Rattled, the performances of Zoe Kazan as Alice Longabaugh, Bill Heck as Billy Knapp, and Grainger Haines as Mr. Arthur are amazing with Kazan being the major standout as a young woman coping with her situation while there’s notable small roles from Jefferson Mays as Alice’s brother Gilbert and Ethan Dubin as Matt who is trying to cheat Alice. In The Mortal Remains, the performances of Tyne Daly as the devout Christian woman, Saul Rubinek as the Frenchman, Chelcie Ross as trapper, Jonjo O’Neill as the Englishman, and Brendan Gleeson as the Irishman all sitting at the stagecoach are excellent to play into the tension and differences of these individuals as they deal with the journey ahead and their destination as well as the reality of their environment.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a sensational film from Joel and Ethan Coen. Featuring a great ensemble cast, compelling stories on death and the unexpected elements of life, gorgeous cinematography, and an incredible music score and soundtrack. It’s a film that is an unusual yet engaging anthology film of sorts set in the American West that play into all sorts of situations and stories that all relate to uncertainty in those times. In the end, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a phenomenal film from Joel and Ethan Coen.
Coen Brothers Films: Blood Simple - Raising Arizona - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - The Hudsucker Proxy - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Man Who Wasn't There - Intolerable Cruelty - The Ladykillers - Paris Je T'aime-Tulieres -To Each His Own Cinema-World Cinema - No Country for Old Men - Burn After Reading - A Serious Man - True Grit - Inside Llewyn Davis - Hail, Caesar!
The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers: Pt. 1 - Pt. 2
© thevoid99 2018
Directed by Michael Showalter and written by Showalter and Laura Terruso that is based on two short films by Terruso, Hello, My Name is Doris is the story of a woman in her 60s who falls for a much-younger co-worker as she tries to woo him as well as become independent from her family and older friends. The film is an exploration of a woman trying to put some spark in her life as she goes after a man who is young enough to be her grandson. Starring Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Tyne Daly, Beth Behrs, Natasha Lyonne, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, and Wendi McLendon-Covey. Hello, My Name is Doris is a delightful and charming film from Michael Showalter.
The film follows a shy and eccentric woman whose mother had just died as she falls for a new and much-younger co-worker in his 20s as she tries to figure out how to get his attention. It’s a film that explores a woman who is given a new jolt in life through this young man as she tries to understand what he likes and what he does while she is coping with the loss of her mother as well as being known as a hoarder of things she finds and brings to her home. The film’s screenplay by Michael Showalter and Laura Terruso shows the world that Doris (Sally Field) is in as someone who has collected so many things at her home as she wears quirky yet colorful clothes, sports a weave, and sometimes wears two glasses to read things. Yet, Doris lives alone despite the offer from her younger brother Todd (Stephen Root) to live at his home with his wife Cynthia (Wendi McLendon-Covey) and their two kids as well as sell the house.
Doris refuses as she spends much of her time with longtime friend Roz (Tyne Daly) who has spent much of her time raising her 13-year old granddaughter Vivian (Isabelle Acres) since her daughter is in prison awaiting a parole hearing. When Doris meets this young man in John Fremont (Max Greenfield), she falls head over heels for him as she turns to Vivian for help on things about him as well as creating a fake Facebook account and getting advice from a self-help guru. Learning about what music he likes and other interests, she does whatever he can to get to know him and be with him as there are these moments of fantasy into what Doris would see life with John is like yet she would have to contend with reality. Not only for the fact that she’s in her 60s and John is in his 20s but also other realities that include reasons into why she’s a hoarder and how this pursuit of John has alienated friends and family.
Michael Showalter’s direction is very straightforward as it opens with the funeral of Doris and Todd’s mother as it play into how odd Doris is in the way she looks as well as how she’s coping with the loss. Shot largely in Los Angeles though many of the exteriors are shot in New York City where the film is set, Showalter mainly goes for intimate compositions with the usage of medium shots and close-ups while exploring the world of modern-day New York City youth culture such as indie music, EDM, and other places that hipsters are known to frequent at. There are moments in the film where Showalter would create these moments of fantasy as it relates to Doris’ reaction towards John as it is playful. There are also moments in the film that showcase the humor very naturally such as the scene where Doris is eating dinner at Todd’s home where she’s wearing odd clothes because she’s about to attend a EDM concert with John later in the night. It’s among these weird moments that has Doris be part of a world she has no clue of what it’s about yet they would include her as they think she’s really cool. The film’s tone does change in the third act as it relates to not just the reality that Doris is facing about herself but also John and his own life as it’s filled with things that she doesn’t really know about him or what he wants in his life. Overall, Showalter crafts a charming and heartfelt film about a woman in her 60s who falls for a man in his 20s.
Cinematographer Brian Burgoyne does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as much of it is straightforward with the exception of the neon lights for the scenes at the EDM concert. Editor Robert Nassau does nice work with the editing as it is straightforward for much of the film with the exception of a few scenes such as Doris’ fantasies and a montage sequence of her dressing for a party. Production designer Melanie Jones, with art directors Catherine Devaney and Eve McCarney plus set decorator Karuna Karmarkar, does fantastic work with the look of the office floor that Doris and John work at as well as her home that is filled with all of these antiques and stuff she’s found over the years.
Costume designer Rebecca Gregg does brilliant work with the costumes from the colorful and offbeat clothes that Doris wears throughout the film as it adds so much to her character with everyone else being straightforward. Sound editor Tom Paul does terrific work with the sound as it is straightforward with the exception of the concert scene. The film’s music by Brian H. Kim is wonderful for its low-key score of soft orchestral and jazz-like pieces while music supervisor Andrew Gowan creates a fun soundtrack that features a mixture of EDM music and pop music to play into the different world and musical tastes of John and Doris.
The casting by Sunday Boling and Meg Morman is great as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Jack Antonoff of Fun as the singer of the EDM band that John and Doris sees, Rebecca Wisocky as Doris’ boss, Kyle Mooney as band photographer, Rich Sommer as a young co-worker of Doris in Robert, Kumail Nanjiani as another young co-worker of Doris in Nasir, Natasha Lyonne as a co-worker of Doris in Sally, Don Stark as John’s uncle Frank who tries to flirt with Doris at a party, Isabelle Acres as Roz’s granddaughter Vivian who helps Doris know more about John, Caroline Aaron as a friend of Doris and Roz in Val, and Peter Gallagher in a terrific small role as the self-help guru Willy Williams. Beth Behrs is superb as a young woman named Brooklyn who is often seen with Jack during the film’s second-half while Elizabeth Reaser is fantastic as Doris’ psychiatrist Dr. Edwards as a woman that is trying to understand Doris as well as see the things in Doris’ home. Wendi McLendon-Covey is wonderful as Todd’s wife Cynthia who is always critical of what Doris has in her home as she would unknowingly push Doris’ buttons while Stephen Root is excellent as Doris’ brother Todd who is just trying to help her as well as express his own issues with her as it relates to their mother.
Tyne Daly is amazing as Roz as Doris’ longtime friend who is still dealing with the loss of her husband many years ago as she becomes baffled by Doris’ strange behavior as well as having to accept the fact that she is getting old. Max Greenfield is brilliant as John Fremont as a young man in his 20s who becomes a new superior for Doris as he is curious yet welcoming towards Doris’ presence as he admits to the difficulties he’s having in his life at work and in his personal life. Finally, there’s Sally Field in a spectacular performance as Doris as this woman in her 60s who falls for this young man as she tries to get his attention as it’s this incredible mixture of comedy and drama where Field just exudes this air of awkwardness and physicality to her performance as it’s really a master at work making it one of Field’s defining performances.
Hello, My Name is Doris is a remarkable film from Michael Showalter that features a phenomenal performance from Sally Field. Along with its ensemble cast, themes on aging and exploring new worlds, and moments that are funny and endearing. It’s a film that manages to be not just entertaining but also give audiences something full of heart in this exploration of a woman trying to nab a man that is much younger than her. In the end, Hello, My Name is Doris is a sensational film from Michael Showalter.
Michael Showalter Films: (The Baxter) – (The Big Sick) – (The Lovebirds (2020 film)) - The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2021 film) - (Spoiler Alert)
© thevoid99 2017
Directed by James Fargo and screenplay by Stirling Silliphant and Dean Riesner from a story by Gail Morgan Hickman and S.W. Schurr, The Enforcer is the story of Harry Callahan teaming up with an inexperienced yet determined woman detective to take down a terrorist ring. The third film in the Dirty Harry series has the often-prejudiced and cynical Harry team up with a woman for the first time as he shows her the ropes in the world of homicide and crime as he’s once again played by Clint Eastwood. Also starring Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman, and DeVeren Bookwalter. The Enforcer is an exhilarating and intense film from James Fargo.
The film revolves a terrorist plot in which a group of people claiming to be revolutionaries as they demand a huge ransom prompting the police to try and stop things with Harry Callahan trying to find their identity after one of his colleagues was killed during a theft. While it’s a revenge movie of sorts, it’s also a film that explore a cop trying to do what is right but know he’s dealing with something different as well as coping with some of the politics in the police force. Joining Callahan in his pursuit is his new partner in a female rookie in Kate Moore (Tyne Daly) who has been selected as part of a new affirmative action enforced by the mayor which makes Callahan uneasy due to Moore’s inexperience on the field as she spent much of her work in records.
The film’s screenplay doesn’t just explore Callahan’s reluctance in taking in someone inexperienced as his partner but also the fact that he’s dealing with a group of people who are just causing terror. When Callahan talks to a black militant leader in “Big” Ed Mustapha (Albert Popwell) who knows a former member of his group that is part of the organization. Things become complicated behind the scenes as it’s an election year where Callahan’s superiors want to make Callahan and Moore as poster-people for all that is good yet neither of them are proud. Especially the former who sees what he does is just a job and nothing else as commendations and such don’t mean anything other than see that justice is served.
James Fargo’s direction is quite simple in terms of the compositions he creates as it doesn’t have any kind of stylish angles though it begins in a darkly-comical manner in which two men from a gas company pick up a gorgeous woman wearing scantily-clad clothing. Of course, they are just pawns in the game of these individual who practically kill them and use their truck for other means as it establishes who the antagonists are and what they aim to do. Much of Fargo’s direction has him use medium shots and close-ups to focus on some of the action and interaction between characters while he would a lot of wide shots for the many locations in and around San Francisco where the film is set. Fargo’s approach to the action is intense as is some of the violence where there are moments that is quite graphic in how some people are killed which is something that Moore is being introduced to in such a big way. Even as the film include a bombing and a scene early in the film in which Callahan disrupts a robbery by giving them what they want as it shows his no-nonsense approach to getting the job done. The film’s climax at the island of Alcatraz prison where it is this big showdown between this gang of terrorists and the duo of Callahan and Moore as it’s all about trying to save San Francisco. Overall, Fargo creates a thrilling and gripping film about a cop and his new partner taking down a terrorist group wreaking havoc in San Francisco.
Cinematographer Charles W. Short does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is quite straightforward in the way the daytime scenes look as well as the usage of low-key lights for the scenes at night. Editors Joel Cox and Ferris Webster do nice work with the editing as it is straightforward for its approach to the action and suspense. Art director Allen E. Smith and set decorator Ira Bates do fantastic work with the look of some of the places the characters go into such as a church, a mysterious brothel, and a porno film set during a chase scene.
Costume designer Glenn Wright does terrific work with the costumes from the ragged hippie/army-like clothing of the terrorist group to the more straight-laced look of Callahan and Moore. The sound work of Bert Hallberg is superb for the presentation some of the action as well as way gunfire and rocket launchers sound. The film’s music by Jerry Fielding is amazing for its jazz-driven score that help play into the suspense and some of the film’s action scenes as it is a highlight of the film.
The casting by Mary Goldberg is brilliant as it feature some notable small roles from Joe Spano and Rudy Ramos as a couple of liquor store robbers that are taken down by Callahan, M.G. Kelly as a corrupt priest who is helping the terrorist group, Jocelyn Jones as the scantily-clad woman that is actually part of the terrorist group, Samantha Doane as another female member of the terrorist group named Wanda, Michael Cavanaugh as the terrorist group’s second-in-command, and John Mitchum as Callahan’s old friend and partner Frank “Fatso” DiGiorgio. John Crawford is terrific as the mayor who sees the pairing of Callahan and Moore as good publicity that he wants to use for his re-election while Albert Popwell is superb as the black militant leader “Big” Ed Mustapha who would help give Callahan some information as he sees Callahan as one of the few white people he can trust.
DeVeren Bookwalker is wonderful as the crazed terrorist leader Bobby Maxwell as someone who is just trying to pretend to use a cause for his actions when he is really just about money. Harry Guardino is excellent as Lt. Bressler as a superior of Callahan who is a man of reason as he’s trying to make sure Callahan doesn’t go overboard. Bradford Dillman is fantastic as Captain Jerome McKay as Callahan’s top superior who doesn’t like Callahan or his methods as he tries to make him the poster-boy for accepting this new wave of affirmative action as he’s more concerned with advancing his career prospects rather than do what is right. Tyne Daly is amazing as Inspector Kate Moore as a police officer who transferred from records to homicide in this new affirmative action initiative is someone who is determined to do her job and impress Callahan as well as get into the real aspects of her work in homicide. Finally, there’s Clint Eastwood in a marvelous performance as Harry Callahan as the no-nonsense police detective who knows how to get the job done as he’s trying to fulfill his duties for justice while being reluctant in taking in a new partner as he also copes with the loss of a friend and refusing to become some poster-boy for one’s political gain.
The Enforcer is a remarkable film from James Fargo that feature top-notch performances from Clint Eastwood and Tyne Daly. Along with some thrilling action and suspense scenes as well as a look into the world of homegrown terrorism and political ambition. It’s a film that explore a man dealing with changing times but also knowing that justice still matters. In the end, The Enforcer is an excellent film from James Fargo.
Dirty Harry Films: Dirty Harry - Magnum Force - Sudden Impact – The Dead Pool
© thevoid99 2017
