Movie: Drive-Away Dolls
Production Company: Working Title Films
Director: Ethan Coen
Producers: Tim Bevan, Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke
Scriptwriters: Ethan Coen, Tricia Cooke
Main Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Matt Damon
Release Date: 15th March 2024
Running Time: 84 minutes
Certificate: 15
Introduction: This new crime caper from Ethan Coen – one half of the Coen Brothers – is a bewilderingly quirky but messy homage to 1950’s Hollywood.
Synopsis: Two friends, Jamie and Marian, embark on a road trip only to be pursued by criminals who they accidentally cross paths with.
Analysis: Rarely have I been this unsure about what to think about a film. This is by far and away Ethan Coen’s quirkiest and most oddball film to date that is filled with varying degrees of crude dialogue, stoner montages featuring Miley Cyrus, and all manner of B movie aesthetics. Part of me wants to criticize these elements, but then again the other half is aware that this is what makes it rather individualistic. That is the issue though, it was just too much of an undecidedly mixed bag for me.
The entire film is deeply rooted in the typical Coen aesthetic in what is an otherwise confused film that does not know what it should or wants to be. The script, I have to say, is very well written. We are, after all, dealing with the person who co – wrote ‘No Country For Old Men’ so it was almost guaranteed. The dialogue is quick and razor sharp and you can tell who wrote it. For me, the film also felt like a very peculiar (but rather welcome) mix-up of Quentin Tarantino, Wes Anderson, and of course, the Coens. As a result, what you are left with can only be described as a hippy – infused ‘No Country For Old Men’.
Given the stellar, all star cast attached to this, I expected far more than what you are given. It did just feel like a few famous faces were lining up just to feature in this and their performances ended up feeling wasted. Sadly, I just could not get on board with any of the performances. The only silver lining the film has going for it is that it is an impressively written, 50’s tribute to Hollywood drenched in noir. Other than that, with a cast this stacked from a director who this acclaimed and successful (he has four Oscars for heaven’s sake), you’d expect more.
In cinemas now.
Overall Rating: 5/10 – Average
Target Audience: 15+
Content Warning: very strong language, strong sex references, sex, nudity, violence
Recommendation: no
