I’d consider myself a Coen Brothers fan, but this completely passed me by on release. We have six vignette stories, all based in the Wild West, where we start with Buster Scruggs (Tim Blake Nelson) and his ballard. A fourth wall breaking crooner with a white suit and a white horse named Dan. His cheerful disposition and dirt free outfit is misleading. Buster is lethal, inventively so. But is he a bit too confident? Confidence is a common theme through these stories. We’re in cowboy territory after all. One such cowboy being Cowboy (James Franco) who walks into a desolate bank with a teller named Teller (Stephen Root). Cowboy is a robber. Teller is, once again, not to be underestimated. I’ve nothing against the leave em wanting more school of story telling, but just as some of these set ups get going, they’re over and the reset is quite frustrating. In the blink of an eye it’s Liam Neeson and Harry Melling’s turn to star. Quite literally. They’re a traveling act, telling thespian tales to rapt and not so rapt audiences. They have a hook, but times are still hard. When the Impresario (Neesen) spots an opportunity to make more money. Things for his Artist friend take a sinister turn. Honestly I’m quite relieved in this case for the thrifty runtime. I’m a little fearful though as we join a prospector in the next story. Tom Waits isn’t usually associated with cheery stories. He searching for gold of course, but looking at the beautiful untouched landscape in which he toils, it could be argued he’s already rich. Also out on the trail are Alice (Zoe Kazan) and her brother Gilbert (Jefferson Mays). They’re headed off in a wagon train to settle in Oregon, but Gilbert doesn’t get far, his role is pivotal as Alice is saddled with his promises and his dog, and only Mr Knapp (Bill Heck) as her confidant as she tries to navigate the mess she’s in. Although a way into the total duration, with more meat on the bones, it feels like a centre point, an anchor and quite frankly a breath of fresh air, in the first and truthfully only story with characters to truly care for. As we reach the finale in a more refined stage coach we find five mismatched… souls. A talkative trapper (Chelcie Ross), a Frenchman (Saul Runbinek) and a hauty lady (Tyne Daly). They’re joined by a duo of an Englishman (Jonjo O’Neill) and an Irishman (Brendan Gleeson), no it’s not a joke. Death is rarely funny and this falls a bit flat. All in all it’s an odd collection of stories that don’t really go together, but are mostly enjoyable. That said with its scattershot nature, it’s far from the Coen Brothers best work, but I’m pleased to have finally watched it.
5/10

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