Who can say when we’ll get another Coen brothers movie? The revered Minnesotan filmmakers last worked together on Netflix’s The Ballad of Buster Scruggs all the way back in 2018. Since then, Joel has turned his hand to solo filmmaking with Apple’s The Tragedy of Macbeth, and now Ethan is bringing his first one-man show with Drive-Away Dolls, which arrives in Australian cinemas on September 21.
Well, not quite solo. He’s co-written this one with his wife, Tricia Cooke, with the pair also sharing editing duties. Indeed, the project has been kicking around since the early 2000s, when it was almost brought the screen under the direction of Allison Anders. But now it’s back, retooled, recast, and ready to hit our screens.
But what’s it about? For that, we go to the official synopsis:
This comedy caper follows Jamie, an uninhibited free spirit bemoaning yet another breakup with a girlfriend, and her demure friend Marian who desperately needs to loosen up. In search of a fresh start, the two embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, but things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
The cast is certainly impressive, with Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as Jamie and Marian, plus Beanie Feldstein, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Matt Damon, and Joey Slotnick in support. The Coens have never struggled to find fantastic actors to bring their stories to life, and apparently that holds true even when we’re down a Coen.
Tonally, however, we’re a long way from the brothers’ trademark cerebral slapstick and arch humour. Ethan described the tone as “exploitive but innocent,” likening it to the exploitation flicks he clocked as a kid back in the ‘70s. The Coens (or at least, a Coen) do Tarantino? Look, we’re intrigued.
