★★★★
Because the Coen brothers (Fargo, The Large Lebowski) determined to finish their long-running partnership, Ethan Coen’s solely directorial work has been a single documentary on Jerry Lee Lewis. With Drive-Away Dolls, he returns to options with the assistance of his spouse and co-writer, Tricia Cooke. For any followers who loved Joel Coen’s solo debut with 2021’s The Tragedy of Macbeth but famous a discernible variation from the brothers’ collaborative type, Drive-Away Dolls could really feel like one thing of a return to type.
The motion facilities on Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan), an Odd Couple duo who inadvertently wind up in possession of a prison’s briefcase whereas on a street journey to Florida. Additionally they wind up in possession of a decapitated head (Pedro Pascal), a element which remarkably pales in strangeness to the last word reveal of the briefcase’s contents. In true Coen trend, this setup results in a string of prison schemes, quirky character moments, and a surprisingly intricate plot revolving straight round Matt Damon’s genitals. To place it succinctly, it’s the form of actually Coen-style narrative that may’t be adequately defined with out merely experiencing the movie in its entirety.
As is Coen custom, the oddball nature of the plot works largely as a result of stellar performances of the solid. On paper, Jamie and Marian differ in predictably archetypal methods. Jamie is the fun-loving adventurer, whereas Marian is a reserved younger girl with little expertise on this planet outdoors her consolation zone. What actually makes the pairing work, nonetheless, shouldn’t be discovered within the blanket descriptions of their characters however quite the nuances of their onscreen chemistry. At each beat, the subtleties of their facial reactions and physique language differ with such distinction that even a viewer with incurable face-blindness would haven’t any drawback differentiating one girl from the opposite. But regardless of their numerous variations, they by no means as soon as fail to share their scenes convincingly as a pair.
Other than the principle duo, the solid is rounded out with a handful of likewise strong performances. Colman Domingo and Damon significantly shine as two of the movie’s antagonists, whereas Beanie Feldstein proves well-suited for placing the standard Coen spin on the compulsory cop character sometimes present in much less gonzo crime comedies. Miley Cyrus additionally makes a superbly memorable cameo as a real-life-inspired character who shares a weird reference to the movie’s MacGuffin—and, by affiliation, Damon’s genitals.
Placing apart the tongue-in-cheek tone this film so simply deserves, Drive-Away Dolls is about greater than weird crime plots and quirky character moments. Typical of most buddy journey films, every of the movie’s characters dives additional into their very own private journey of discovery with each mile of floor they cowl.
This may be the place the movie falls simply shy of attention-grabbing. Marian’s journey towards overcoming her introversion whereas concurrently pushing her sexual boundaries is written and portrayed nicely sufficient, however she doesn’t deliver a lot new to the desk in contrast with different characters who’ve adopted the identical thread within the years since mainstream Hollywood started pushing for wider acceptance of queer protagonists. At occasions, it feels as if her chemistry with the endlessly lovable Jamie is the one factor rendering this side of the story just some ticks above common.
In the meantime, viewers could discover themselves questioning at numerous factors whether or not Jamie is really lovable by the energy of something however Qualley’s efficiency. Her character arc begins with an act of infidelity, and her devil-may-care angle typically calls into query whether or not she has a lot curiosity in long-term progress. Nonetheless, it’s arduous to listen to Qualley converse a single line in her molasses-thick Southern accent with out falling again in love it doesn’t matter what the character’s flaws.
With Drive-Away Dolls, Ethan Coen delivers all of the nutty-yet-clever hallmarks related to earlier Coen movies. Though the writing does sometimes lend itself to the odd second of slight boredom or delicate disaster of non-public ethics, these are finally small costs to pay for the memorable joyride the movie delivers. It’s not fairly a masterpiece, but it surely’s as shut as Coen followers have gotten in a while.
