The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Coen Brothers are those kinds of directors that almost have their own genre of movies. When you here there name you have an some idea of what to expect. They usually have a dark comedic tone with a lot of strange characters and settings. But over the years they have shown they can do a wide range of of styles from surreal and comedic to realistic and gritty. This is probably best shown in there recent Netflix Original movie The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.

The movie is a collection of six short stories all set in the old west, and that's the only connection they have. Each short has a very different story, setting, and tone. The First one follows the adventures of a singing outlaw. The second is about a bank robber who goes from one bad situation to another. The third is about a traveling showman and his handicapped actor. The fourth follows a miner and his search for gold in the middle of the wilderness. The fifth follows a timid young woman on wagon train and her struggles. And the sixth and final story follows five passengers on an uncomfortable journey in a stagecoach. Each story gives us something new and inventive, and gives us a different look at the old west.

Because it is six different short stories from the same directors, it feels like it's showing a sample of there different work. Like many of their movies, they're not kept to one genre and are unpredictable. I wouldn't be surprised if they just wanted to make a film about the old west but couldn't decide on which genre. It also feels like an example of all the different stories that can be done with Westerns. Westerns have always been open to many different genres, and have shown all the different stories that can be told in that time and place. Also, many of the Coen brothers films have often had that Western feel to them and they look like they are in the element here. However, like many anthology movies, some are better than others.

Like I said before each story is different in tone and in style, so the whole thing feels inconsistent. this does keep it interesting because your given something new with each one and are not sure on what to expect. But some feel so different from others that your surprised it is one movie. Some even feel to short while others feel too long. It even seems like the stories are told out of order. The craziest story is told at the beginning and makes the rest seem a little underwhelming. I feel like it should have shown the more serious ones first then ended with the more ridicules ones. However, they still all the that signature Coen Brother quirkiness to them.

Even though the stories do feel all over the place they are all still really well made and have a huge talented cast to tell them. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a fun and unique look at the diverse storytelling of its directors and of Western films. With six stories in one, it is definitely a wild trip through the old west. If your a fan of the Coen Brothers or you want to see something different than I say go check it out.

I give it a 4/5.