The Coen Brothers in 2021

[The Collector FX]

I remember reading a couple months ago that Ethan Coen "doesn't want to make movies anymore", thus announcing his unofficial retirement. His brothers future in regards to the film industry is uncertain.

However, it didn't dawn on me until yesterday that this would make Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a Netflix film that never released in theaters and will (probably) never see a home video release, to be their last official film. And quite honestly...

I expected...more.

While I'm sure it wasn't premeditated that they'd split, so an official "last film" they'd work on together was never in the back of their minds - it regardless feels distasteful and polarizing to realize that one of the most prolific, if not THE most prolific directing duo of our time would end their career on a f***ing Netflix movie. (If you can even call it that, Ballad of Buster Scruggs isn't even about Buster Scruggs, only the opening act of the film is and the rest is a mishmash of unrelated Western themed short stories)

34 years of work, ranging from Raising Arizona, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou and No Country For Old Men - only for them to have nothing to show for a grand exit except a Netflix film that's paywalled behind a subscription fee for the Walmart of streaming services.

I ask myself; is that REALLY how they wanna end their collaborative directing legacy?

What an underwhelming and undesirable turn of events...