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PEOPLE & ARTS Wednesday 19 december 2018
Coens stake their claim to the Western in 'Buster Scruggs'

By JAKE COYLE at doing one thing, they're
Associated Press not afraid of trying a differ-
NEW YORK (AP) — No loca- ent kind of thing," said Ka-
tion is more central to the zan. "I watched actor af-
iconography of the West- ter actor just have a great
ern than Monument Val- time."
ley. Its majestic sandstone Though there are a handful
buttes, a revolving back- of naturalistic performanc-
drop for John Ford, have es in their films (Oscar Isaac
been the setting for count- in "Inside Llewyn Davis," Bill
less stagecoach chases Heck in "Buster Scruggs"),
and John Wayne passages. Nelson acknowledges that
And thanks to the Coen when he or other regulars
brothers' "The Ballad of Bust- like Steve Buscemi, John
er Scruggs," this hallowed Turturro or Frances McDor-
ground at the Utah-Arizona mand (who has been mar-
line is also now home to ried to Joel since 1984) are
Tim Blake Nelson, as the all- summoned, "these are not
white-clad "San Saba song- actors who are going to
bird" Buster Scruggs, strum- wake up and look in the
ming his guitar on a horse mirror and think: 'All right,
and singing, with twang I've been called in to do
and gusto, like a slightly de- This image released by Netflix shows Tim Blake Nelson as Buster Scruggs in a scene from "The Bal- this one for my quiet subtle-
ranged Roy Rogers. lad of Buster Scruggs," a film by Joel and Ethan Coen. ty,'" Nelson says, laughing.
It's the opening salvo in a Associated Press "They want character ac-
six-part anthology film from tors to take the sorts of
the Coens that corrals a anthology. That was the first phenomenal amount of out what filmmakers need chances that Peter Lorre
stampede of Western ar- three or four of them, any- DVDs. People primarily saw from an exhibition point-of- and Sydney Greenstreet
chetypes and tropes only way. Then we started think- that movie on their televi- view." and Ernest Borgnine were
to invert, distort and deliri- ing more concretely about sion sets," says Joel Coen. One advantage of "Buster taking back when directors
ously amplify them. But it's genre and going: Well, "For us to get too precious Scruggs" streaming is that were generous enough to
also just the start. what are the subgenres about it would be a little bit it gives viewers the imme- give them roles," says Nel-
Soon after Buster's hokey that we haven't done that strange." diate chance to intimately son. "That's the kind of face
song, "Cool Water," the might be interesting? Like "The Ballad of Buster watch, re-watch and ex- they want to put in their
body count accumulates a prospector story or a Scruggs," which is now amine a top-tier Coen movies. It goes back to an
and the Roy Rogers-sheen covered wagon story or a streaming on Netflix, was brothers film, one that re- earlier time."
rapidly retreats for far cru- stagecoach story." the first film by the stream- vises and contorts old West- The classic Hollywood
eler twists and tales of fron- Changing film econom- ing company to have an ern myths in morality tales genres (noir, screwball,
tier justice across a wanton ics also helped. "Buster exclusive theatrical run where the only reprieve Western), as well as literary
Wild West, from a tireless Scruggs" was financed by before hitting Netflix. It first from death is a good story ones, have likewise held an
prospector played by Tom Megan Ellison's Annapurna played for a week in two — and that won't save you, extraordinary power over
Waits to a westward travel- Pictures, which sold the film theaters and Netflix didn't either. the Coens, even if their
ing wagon train with a dog to Netflix for distribution. report opening grosses. It Tim Blake Nelson, also the interpretations add lay-
problem. Early reports suggested it was a strangely unceremo- escaped convict Delmar ers of absurdism. "The Big
The Coens have dabbled would be a series, but the nious launch for the latest O'Donnell in "O Brother, Lebowski," for example, is
in Westerns — think of their Coens always envisioned film from a pair of America's Where Art Thou?" has had at heart a kind of warped
sarsaparilla-sipping narra- the shorts as a connected most respected filmmakers, time to ponder the Coens' Raymond Chandler detec-
tor (Sam Elliott) in "Big Leb- whole. and Joel — while stressing tragicomic worldview. tive tale. "Buster Scruggs"
owski." But both "No Coun- The initial confusion, along that Netflix was great to "Joel and Ethan are decid- is, in a way, their John Ford
try for Old Men," from the with the unexpected pair- work with — acknowledges edly steeped in the Old movie.
Cormac McCarthy novel, ing of the Coens — among he would have preferred a Testament," says Nelson. "It's always interesting that
and "True Grit," from Charles the most proudly old- more robust theatrical re- "The world is a really unruly, if you're dealing with some-
Portis, were foremost about school filmmakers — and lease. violent and difficult place. thing that has certain rules
faithfully adapting the Netflix, made "A Ballad of "Sure. Absolutely," Coen It's also widely unpredict- or expectations that the
books. For the first time, re- Buster Scruggs" a little more says. "I also understand able. The best we can do reader or the audience is
ally, the Coens have gone confounding than the typi- what the pressures are, is adhere to structure and familiar with, to play around
West. Even it was a little ac- cal Coen release. What did what the thinking is from the law and a devotion to with those expectations or,
cidental. the Coens think of the ar- point of view of the com- powers that are not only to a certain extent, bend or
"We were writing these rangement? pany. I think it's all evolving beyond our comprehen- break the rules," says Joel
short movies without any "We came into the business still. I'm hopeful that it will sion but completely inscru- Coen. "It's a way of thinking
expectation of making at a time when ancillary evolve in a way that every- table. But even doing what about stories. I guess it's a
them. They were just kind markets, which were essen- one gets what they want. we're supposed to do is fu- little bit like if you're a poet
of for fun. They were ex- tially home video markets, Everything's been thrown tile, and we're going to get there are different forms
ercises. They'd go in a were really responsible up in the air and we'll see sideswiped." you can write it. You can
drawer," Joel Coen says in for the fact that we were where it lands. Zoe Kazan, a Coen new- write a sonnet."
a recent phone interview. able to get our movies fi- The studios are sort of out of bie who stars in the Oregon "There's very little that's
"At a certain point, we re- nanced. Sometimes, that the business of making the trail chapter "The Gal Who completely original," Coen
alized that these particular was the principle way our kinds of movies we make. Got Rattled," prepped for concludes, "and I'm not
ones were all Westerns. Be- movies were seen. So if you That's why it's important the occasion by joyfully sure that that's even very
cause they're generically look at 'The Big Lebowski,' it for these companies to be re-watching every Coen interesting when it does
related, maybe they could did a reasonable amount around. They're figuring it brothers movie. "However happen." And then he
be gathered in some sort of of box office but it did a out, and they're figuring successful they have been chuckles.q