Drive-Away Dolls

Newly single and thus suddenly homeless, Jamie (Margaret Qualley) impulsively joins her friend Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) on a road trip to Florida. Unbeknownst to the two girls, their rental car is the location of an ominous briefcase – one people are willing to kill for.

Considering this is Ethan Coen’s first solo directing stint, it’s a little disconcerting that Drive-Away Dolls feels like a lukewarm tracing of a Coen brothers film, rather than anything from the horse’s mouth. The script was co-written with his wife Tricia Cooke, and while trademarks like comic repetition are there, the deliberately constrained dialogue prompts weary smiles at best and vicarious embarrassment at the other end of the spectrum. Its protagonists are characterised in the testosterone-driven way one might very well expect from a buddy comedy, and while the mechanics of same-sex relations are somewhat taken into account, Marian’s and in particular Jamie’s lines still feel like those of straight men, rather than lesbian women.

The accessibility to this film is further impeded by overly stylised editing. The tawdry transitions between scenes are reminiscent of no-budget student films experimenting with Windows Movie Maker, further driving the “B-movie” narrative the makers are pushing upon their product. Psychedelic flashback sequences with Miley Cyrus are strewn throughout the feature like breadcrumbs, but their actual relevance to the plot is almost overshadowed by their gimmicky nature.

Similarly, despite the sheer abundance of great names attached to the film, the talent seem preoccupied by particularities and minor details to their performance rather than any psychological or emotive processes. Perhaps a non-issue for cameos and supporting roles, it’s detrimental for the lead’s usual capabilities to downright disappear behind a taxing Texas drawl. The budding relationship between Qualley’s character and Viswanathan’s makes up a bigger portion of the plot than the criminal conspiracy they get caught up in, and yet the outcome is undercooked and uninspired. The duration of 84 minutes promises a much perkier tempo and a more fun experience than is actually had with the result. The film finally gathers speed with Matt Damon’s appearance on screen, but even as this development effortlessly overpowers the tedious romantic efforts and hackneyed mobster segments, by then it is too late to turn the wheel.

Drive-Away Dolls is unfortunately among the early great disappointments of the year. Audiences who adopt a “switch your brain off” approach to entertainment will be able to enjoy portions of it, but anyone anticipating a cracking collision of sapphic empowerment and exuberant crime is better off saving their money for Rose Glass’s Love Lies Bleeding.

Selina Sondermann

Drive-Away Dolls is released nationwide on 15^th March 2024.

Watch the trailer for Drive-Away Dolls here: