BY JACK RANSOM MARCH 18, 2024
Ethan Coen’s first solo directorial venture away from his brother. These solo directorial outings make it immediately apparent with brother brought which particular element to their many dual directed outings. Joel adapts Shakespeare’s iconic tale of Macbeth with a layer of horror, intensity and black and white theatricality, whilst Ethan cranks up the stereo, spikes everyone’s drinks in a haze of hallucinogen's and charges along with a horny, lesbian road trip.
Arriving with a cracking 84 minute runtime (a rare and welcome sight), Drive Away Dolls relishes in its unabashedly riotous, motor mouthed, punk rock spirit.
SYNOPSIS
Drive-Away Dolls follows two women (Margaret Qualley & Geraldine Viswanathan) as they embark on an impromptu road trip to Tallahassee, in search of a fresh start. However, things quickly go awry when they cross paths with a group of inept criminals along the way.
REVIEW
Opening with a cartoonishly in peril Pedro Pascal, before cartwheeling into meeting our two leads: the uptight and intellectual Marian and the fiery, fun lovin’ Texan, Jamie. They pick up the wrong car at the wrong Drive-Away and become targets of a bumbling band of fugitives who pursue them across country.
The structure is undeniably choppy and incredibly jarring at points. It moves incredibly swiftly (in a good way) and barrages the viewer with a myriad of Coen-isms, trippy diversions (there are a handful of drugged out interludes featuring a familiar face) and some moments of genuine heart amongst the gonzo vibes. The cinematography and camera angles are unique, with the scene transitions being fittingly absurd and in your face.
Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan are both a joy to be on tag along with. The former’s brash, sexually confident, optimistic persona, contrasts and connects with the latter’s timid, anxious and sarcastic sheltered nature. Colman Domingo, Joey Slotnick and C.J. Wilson get the most laughs as the trio of goons in pursuit of the girls. Bill Camp and Beanie Feldstein and are great in their recurring small support roles and both Pedro Pascal and Matt Damon’s extended cameos are suitably chuckle worthy.
Drive-Away Dolls is a fast paced, racy, funny and throwback feeling time. The cast are clearly having a riot, the scene transitions are hilariously ridiculous and the silliness level that the material reaches fits the tone of the flick well. It might not be consistently laugh out loud, and certainly feels choppy throughout, but this is a very breezy recommendation.
STAR RATING
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