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Drive-Away Dolls comes as the primary feature-length narrative characteristic from Ethan Coen, one half of the acclaimed directing duo the Coen Brothers. Whereas Joel already had his first solo movie a number of years again with the well-received The Tragedy of Macbeth, Ethan’s solely movie had been a documentary about well-known rocker Jerry Lee Lewis. Drive-Away Dolls is a criminal offense caper within the vein of prior Coen Brothers titles, with snappy dialogue and quirky characters. And whereas the movie does seize a number of the vitality and humor of a basic Coen characteristic, Ethan’s first solo movie suffers from uneven writing that hampers the general effort.
The storytelling type goals for temper greater than narrative coherency. There’s little in the best way of an inciting incident or any sense of constructing momentum. Our leads Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Geraldine Visawanthan) shortly discover themselves driving a automobile meant for others and are pursued throughout the nation by two goons who recall the dumb banter of flicks like Fargo. However there may be not a lot plot previous that, because the film leans into zaniness as an alternative. The movie oddly units itself within the Nineties whereas consistently referring to 60s-style psychedelic imagery with odd intercuts whose objective is opaque till the top of the movie. It’s certainly one of many narrative selections that feels a tad purposeless.
Whereas the movie will be enjoyable, it feels sick thought-out. There appears to be a pressure of sexual liberation, with the narrative following two lesbians and many aggressively sexual scenes and settings all through the movie. The MacGuffin on this movie is a suitcase stuffed with dildos. Sure, that’s an actual sentence. There’s additionally a large number of references to Henry James, although once more, the precise level of this appears somewhat confused. There’s additionally a romantic connection that kinds between the leads, however all of it’s so underwritten that this extra of a guess than something that the movie definitively communicates.
Regardless of the narrative points and a scarcity of properly structured character arcs, Drive-Away Dolls does keep manic vitality all through. Qualley’s lead efficiency is kind of amusing and kinds a pleasant distinction with Visawanthan’s quieter character. Colman Domingo and Beanie Feldstein have smaller roles, although are each fairly amusing. There’s additionally a large number of enjoyable cameos, although the roles are so small that they don’t make a lot of an impression.
The movie additionally sits at below 90 minutes, a sensible selection for a film that has so little occurring narratively. It’s one of many smarter directing choices from Ethan. Regardless of its sturdy visuals, together with quite a lot of artistic transitions, Drive-Away Dolls very a lot looks like a half-baked concept. On his personal, Ethan’s instincts as a author and director aren’t fairly there. Granted, this is just one movie, so right here’s hoping Ethan improves along with his subsequent one, or simply reunites with Joel.
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