Ethan Coen is back with Honey Don’t, a wild new feature co-written and co-directed with his partner and wife, Tricia Cooke. The film serves as a spiritual continuation of Drive-Away Dolls. The newly released trailer from Focus Features teases a sun-bleached mystery with sharp humour, seductive chaos, and a flair for the bizarre.
Honey Don’t will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, screening in the festival’s Midnight Section — the traditional home for bold, unconventional storytelling. UK and US audiences won’t have to wait long: the film is set for a theatrical release on August 22. Margaret Qualley stars as a private investigator caught up in a surreal tangle involving a Bakersfield-based cult led by Chris Evans, who exudes sinister charm. Aubrey Plaza, ever enigmatic, appears as a mysterious woman whose role remains tightly under wraps.
Though Drive-Away Dolls divided critics, it stood out for its kinetic energy and unapologetically camp tone. Honey Don’t appears to double down on that spirit, trading road trips for cult rituals and throwing in a dash of noir. It’s the second solo outing for Coen without his brother Joel, who is reportedly preparing his own project to shoot later this year.
Still, rumours persist that a Coen brothers reunion may be on the cards. Ethan has teased the possibility of a "very bloody horror" as their next collaboration.
