Yet both actors speak volumes with their faces, subtly revealing every inner thought whether in silence or mid-performance. Neeson’s character barely speaks, while Melling’s repeats his monologues to the point that they lose any sense of meaning (other than sly juxtapositions of text and subtext). ![]() Neither main character says much with their words - hell, they aren’t even given names. There’s no fat on its bones: it’s told almost entirely visually, to the point that it’d play just as well without any sound at all. Seeking to bolster his fortunes, the impresario buys the chicken, at which point the artist suspects he’s done for - which he is, when it's strongly implied Neeson’s character tosses him in a river to drown.įrom a storytelling perspective, "Meal Ticket" is the simplest, tightest, and most darkly poignant short in the bunch. But despite continuing mellifluous performances, audiences dwindle, instead opting to watch “performances” by a man with a chicken that, supposedly, can do rudimentary mathematics. The artist delivers monologues to rapt audiences, and the impresario collects payment afterwards. In “Meal Ticket,” an impresario (Liam Neeson) travels the West with a quadruple amputee dramatic artist ( Harry Potter’s Harry Melling), who makes up for his lack of limbs with his oratory skill. Many people seem gravitate towards the dark comedy of the film’s opening two segments, or the bucolic prospecting odyssey of “All Gold Canyon,” or the more fleshed-out narrative of “The Girl Who Got Rattled.” But I, sucker for punishment that I am, prefer the film’s arguably most depressing segment, “Meal Ticket.” That’s part of why my favourite segment of the Coen Brothers’ Wild-West Twilight Zone anthology is what it is. ![]() There’s a lot, and the pressure for us to keep watching is as real as the reasons we often can’t. If you haven’t, you’re either not "anyone," or you simply can’t keep up with the pace of Netflix's original programming. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs has been out on Netflix long enough that anyone who’s anyone has seen it.
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