--- title: "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs" critics_score: 75 critics_reviews: 28 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018): what the critics said Critics' score 75 from 28 reviews: 21 positive, 6 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics respond warmly to the Coens’ six-part Western anthology, praising its shifts between broad comedy, cruelty and sadness. The performances draw consistent approval, particularly Tim Blake Nelson’s singing cowboy, while the photography, production design and Carter Burwell’s score earn praise even in less enthusiastic reviews. Many find that the storybook structure and recurring concern with death give the separate tales enough coherence, with the opening chapter frequently singled out for its comic invention. The reservations centre on uneven pacing and whether the later stories sustain that opening promise. Opinion ranges widely: admirers find economical storytelling and feeling beneath the grim jokes, while others see minor sketches stretched beyond their worth. Slant Magazine offers the clearest dissent, finding the cruelty predictable and the ideas underdeveloped. Polygon is more positive but raises a separate concern about the retrograde portrayal of Native Americans, a reservation distinct from the broader debate about consistency. ## The Telegraph Rating 5/5. 16 November 2018. The Coens are in inspired form with this macabre, gonzo Western that is half-fish, half-fowl and altogether inspired, with formal ingenuity and surgical control of tone. The critic singles out the dazzling mosey through the Coenesque, including the gonzo send-up of the singing cowboy genre and the formal presentation as chapters of a book. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/ballad-buster-scruggs-review-coens-inspired-form-macabre-gonzo/) ## RogerEbert.com — Glenn Kenny Rating 3.5/4. 9 November 2018. The critic finds the anthology a marvelous and disquieting work full of exquisite detail and a bewitching sense of the Coens' multi-level playfulness. He singles out the vivid performances, Carter Burwell's score, and the way the stories circle around the inevitability of death. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-2018) ## Sight and Sound — Michael Leader Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2018. Festival review. The critic sees the anthology as an eclectic tribute to the flexible storytelling modes of the Old West, with the Coens delighting in comic vignettes, grim irony, gallows humour and Gothic tales. It showcases the brothers in all their guises, from playful to profound, while celebrating American foundation myths. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/ballad-buster-scruggs-first-look-six-pack-western-rambles-way-coen-brothers) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 2018. The critic describes it as an exemplary political film built from giddy Western revisionism that exposes cruelty and unchecked power through clever twists. He singles out the philosophical bent and the way the episodes expand the genre into the absolute, especially the final metaphysical coach journey. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/review-the-coen-brothers-the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-is-six-giddy-cruel-twists-on-the-western) ## Empire — Dan Jolin Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 5 November 2018. The critic calls the Coens' anthology a six-part love letter to the Hollywood Western, visualized as a cloth-bound storybook with vivid illustrations, full of subversion, parody and offbeat humour across its segments. There isn't really a weak link, though 'Meal Ticket' may test patience; the film spans the mythic West's visual flavours with warmth and humanity amid the playfulness, reminding viewers the genre still has life in it. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ballad-buster-scruggs-review/) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 82/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2018. Festival review. The Coens deliver a hilarious, beautifully made, very enjoyable and rather disturbing anthology of old-west stories that switch from picturesque sentimentality to grisly violence. The critic singles out the polished performances, especially Tim Blake Nelson as the roistering Buster and the handsomely made picture with Carter Burwell’s score. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/aug/31/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-coen-brothers-western) ## Film Comment — Michael Koresky Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 1 September 2018. The critic finds the anthology's six tales of flawed, often pathetic characters accumulate into a stronger, stranger, and sadder unified work that reflects moral deficiency and spiritual waywardness. They single out the strong ensemble performances and visual pleasures alongside the Coens' signature existential melancholy. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/the-paragon-of-animals/) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 3/4/5. 7 November 2018. The critic calls it the crowning achievement of the Coens’ career and their personal ode to the Old West, praising the staggering artistic scope, narrative sweep, and vivid evocation of America’s dreams and contradictions. It is by turns darkly comic and deeply moving, with striking images and economy of storytelling. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs) ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Rating 4/5. 16 November 2018. The critic praises the elegant anthology for celebrating celluloid cowboys of varying stripe and flitting masterfully from jet-black drama to sentimentality and savagery while keeping a tight rein on surprising narratives. It is a heartfelt love poem to the Wild West with remarkable performances and a rich understanding of the genre. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-netflix-movie-review/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 2018. The review calls the film one of the darkest yet silliest Coen movies, swerving deftly between goofy and ghastly while treating genre as a playroom. The critic praises its haunting quality and the way its morbid jokes function as existential riddles. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/movies/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review.html) ## The Times — Tom Shone Rating ★★★★. 18 November 2018. The Coens have patched together a crazy, colourful quilt of the American hinterland in this merry, morbid anthology of campfire tales about the American West. The critic singles out death as the linchpin of the strangely memorable portmanteau movie, with stories that layer pathos with cruelty and move from burlesque beginnings to mortal longings. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/article/ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-the-coens-freaky-anthology-of-campfire-tales-dl7qgfb5n) ## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen Rating 4/5. 30 August 2018. The review finds the six darkly comic mini-Westerns richly entertaining and blackly funny yet told with sincerity and heart, with the Coens firing barely a dud. It praises the mini-masterclasses in economy and style, glorious cinematography, and the case made for short-form storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 77/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2018. Festival review. The delightfully protean Western anthology presents every variation of the Coen brothers, united by excitement about truncated narratives and playful discovery. It plays with Western tropes as springboards for clever twists and is at its best when entering existential terrain, though some chapters are stronger than others. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-venice-review/5132032.article) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating B. 6 November 2018. The critic calls it a grimly comic anthology that offers six Coen horse operas, varying in quality but held together by craftsmanship and a withering worldview. They single out the first segment’s savagely funny vaudeville musical violence as the broadest and most memorable. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-coens-head-west-and-to-netflix-in-the-grimly-comi-1830267619) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2018. Festival review. The review describes the film as a messy collage of the Coens’ best motifs that has some wonderful moments even as it drags. The critic highlights the anthology format’s uneven pacing and occasional strong individual segments. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-coen-brothers-netflix-venice-1201999196/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2018. The review presents the film as an anthology of uneven segments that works like a small-plate feast, with some delicious and others less memorable. The critic singles out the first Buster Scruggs episode and the final stagecoach story for their strong performances and comic subversion of Western tropes. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-20181107-story.html) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2018. Festival review. The review sees the anthology as a Coen trifle that justifies itself through majestic imagery and a scabrous obsession with death, though the episodes are uneven. The critic singles out the opening title segment as an original cowboy splatter musical and notes the final coach episode for its grim, funny metaphysical turn. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-the-coen-brothers-1202923160/) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 56/100 (inferred from the text). 31 August 2018. Festival review. The critic finds the Coen brothers' Western anthology uneven and minor, playing like a vaudeville show of sketches with drastically differing quality. They single out the technical craft, particularly Bruno Delbonnel’s rapturous cinematography and the detailed production design. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/ballad-buster-scruggs-review-1139035/) ## Slant Magazine — Greg Cwik Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 8 October 2018. The critic finds the anthology silly and mood-shifting yet inchoate and perfunctory, with the Coens at their most misanthropic. They single out the lack of deeper insinuation and the predictability that saps profundity, though noting some uproarious moments in the opening segment. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Rating B+. 8 November 2018. The film serves as a solid introduction to the Coens' recurring themes and moral philosophy through its anthology structure, even if it is unlikely to be anyone's favorite of their works or the first one they recommend. The critic singles out the anthology format for making the grim and unforgiving worldview clear across varied segments that remain gripping without overstaying their welcome. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review/) ## /Film — Marshall Shaffer Rating 8/10. 7 October 2018. Festival review. The critic views the film as a greatest-hits-style showcase of the Coens' tonal mastery across six stories, praising the expert wielding of mood, ironic twists, strong performances (notably Tim Blake Nelson and Zoe Kazan), and overall pleasure in watching the brothers at work. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/561490/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-nyff/) ## The Ringer — Adam Nayman Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 15 November 2018. The Western anthology collapses the gap between the Coens' funny and serious films by confronting mortality across its stories in a way that puts the sting back into death. The critic singles out the conceptual strength of the page-turning structure for numbing, distancing, and then resensitizing viewers to dread and loss, along with standout segments like the opening and "Meal Ticket." [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2018/11/15/movies/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-netflix-coen-brothers-review) ## Polygon — Siddhant Adlakha Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 24 October 2018. The anthology grapples with the Western genre's history and the Coens' own career while delivering moments of entertainment amid dread, making it one of their funniest yet hauntingly pessimistic films in years. The critic singles out the reflexive commentary on cinema, violence, and existence for praise but notes issues with the retrograde framing of Native Americans. [Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2018/10/24/18018476/ballad-of-buster-scruggs-coen-brothers-western-netflix/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 November 2018. The six-part anthology has its highs and lows but is hardly ever boring and remains a suitably Coenesque jaunt through the Old West. The critic singles out the strong opening segments featuring Tim Blake Nelson and Tom Waits for praise while noting diminishing returns in the later ones, yet highlights the impeccable cast, photography, and scoring as making it worth watching. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2018/11/film-review-the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs/) ## The Playlist — Jessica Kiang Rating B-. 31 August 2018. Festival review. The review calls the anthology wildly uneven with standout funny and offbeat segments alongside weaker ones, praising individual performances and moments (especially the first and fourth stories) but criticizing the lack of connective tissue and overall minor status in the Coens' canon. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/ballad-buster-scruggs-venice-review-20180831/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 7 November 2018. The critic finds the Coen brothers' Western anthology an entertaining but uneven Netflix binge that peaks early with its opening segment. They single out the self-reflexive, absurdist, witty and outrageous quality of the Tim Blake Nelson opener for praise while noting the rest struggles to match its energy. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/ballad-of-buster-scruggs-film-review-coen-brothers-netflix/) ## Den of Geek — David Crow Rating 3/5. 5 October 2018. Festival review. The critic notes the anthology features real gems alongside some fool's gold, with the strongest segments being the title story and 'The Gal Who Got Rattled,' but it never quite overcomes the strength of the opener. They single out the gorgeous cinematography, westward wit, and fantastic acting as consistent strengths. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-review-coen-brothers/) ## Eye for Film — Owen Van Spall Rating 3/5. 27 October 2018. Festival review. The critic finds the anthology a mixed bag of Coen-esque quirk and morbid humor that doesn't fully cohere, praising the visually resplendent production design, droll wordplay, and strong opening segment while noting uneven tales and a lack of fresh perspective on the Western landscape. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs-2018-film-review-by-owen-van-spall) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-ballad-of-buster-scruggs.md