Hes like Gene Autry, if Gene Autry starred in Sam RaimisThe Quick and the Dead.
And his pitch-perfect performance coupled with the Coens mastery of tone are giddy dynamite.
Its a smirky ellipsis rather than an riotous exclamation point.
Credit: NETFLIX
That is, until he sees dollar signs in a mathematical chicken and gets a morbid idea.
Its certainly a bizarre premise, but it never quite takes flight or leaves much of an impression.
Inspired by a Jack London story, this section feels like a palate cleanser.
But it all feels a bit slight a triumph of character over story.
Especially compared to the bittersweet penultimate chapter.
Then she finds a spark of romance with one of the frontier partys leaders (Bill Heck).
But Coen brothers movies are rocky places where happy endings rarely find purchase.
And the short builds to a heartbreaking conclusion that leaves you with an emotional welt.
Its the only moment in the film that manages to recapture Nelson andBuster Scruggs front-loaded promise.
Even hit-and-miss Coens movies are still better than most other directors top-tier ones.
Its a shame that there arent as many monumental peaks as there are monumental valleys.B
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