Everything We Know About Drive-Away Dolls, Ethan Coen's Solo Directorial Debut
The Coen Brothers have made some terrific movies together, but nowadays, the two seem to be venturing out more on their own. As sad as this sounds, we already know that their departures have already resulted in some great work. Joel Coen's 2021 solo debut, "The Tragedy of Macbeth," is a criminally underrated Shakespearian drama that we will continue to say deserved better for years to come.
Now, after rumors of him stepping away from filmmaking altogether, Ethan Coen is gearing up for his own, single seat in the director's chair. Focus Features recently announced that his first solo project, the crime comedy "Drive-Away Dolls," will be released later this year. Coen, who co-wrote and co-produced the film alongside his wife and longtime editor Tricia Cooke, seems to be harkening back to his roots with this project, as seen in the film's 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."
However, there's a lot more to this film than just its wacky premise. Here's what we know so far about "Drive-Away Dolls."
Drive-Away Dolls release date and where you can watch it
Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to see the results of this ill-fated road trip. That's because "Drive-Away Dolls" is slated to release on September 22, 2023. This puts it right in the middle of the fall festival season, which often signals the beginning of awards campaigning. As such, it wouldn't be a surprise if the film makes an appearance during festivals like Venice, TIFF, or Telluride.
Furthermore, you don't have to worry about it being a straight-to-streaming affair. Focus Features will distribute the film exclusively in theaters, and with the cast that it's accrued, you'll definitely want to see "Drive-Away Dolls" in the theater. Once it finishes its theatrical run, it could potentially get a Peacock-exclusive streaming release. Why Peacock? Focus Features is a subdivision of Universal Pictures, which in turn is owned by Peacock operator Comcast. Other Focus films, like "The Northman" and "TÁR," also had their streaming debuts there after their theatrical windows ended.
The creative team behind in Drive-Away Dolls
As we not-so-subtly alluded to earlier, "Drive-Away Dolls" has quite an enviable cast. Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan will portray the film's aforementioned protagonists, although it is unclear who will play Jamie and who will play Marian. No matter what, the two actresses have been scene-stealers in pretty much everything we've seen them in, so they'll be delightful to watch with a Coen-penned script.
Beanie Feldstein, Matt Damon, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, and Bill Camp are also slated to star in the film. Specific details on their characters are unknown, but it's fair to say that at least two of them will be the bumbling criminals foreshadowed in the synopsis. Most importantly, all of these actors have proven themselves to be great at balancing dramatic and comedic elements in roles, so we can't wait to see how they handle this material. Going behind the scenes, Coen and Cooke served as producers alongside Tim Bevan, Robert Graf, and Eric Fellner.
We will update this article as more information on "Drive-Away Dolls" is made available.