Tag: Margaret Qualley

HONEY DON’T (2025)

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Directed By: Ethan Coen 

Written By: Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke

Cinematography: Ari Wegner 

Editor: Tricia Cooke and Emily Denker 

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Charlie Day, Lera Abova, Billy Eichner, Talia Ryder, Kristin Connolly, Jacnier

A dark comedy about small-town private investigator Honey O’Donahue, who delves into a series of strange deaths tied to a mysterious church.

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When it comes to this film’s plot. One can understand like their last collaboration DRIVE AWAY DOLLS. Writer Directors Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke. Like to have multiple narratives going on all at once that run parallel to each other even if just in theme and eventually run into or connect at certain points. That seems like it will be the big payoff. Here the themes are there but everything feels like a near miss. 

Feels a bit exploitive as it seems more interested in showing a lesbian sexual relationship than anything else. Rather then story or plot and put it in there haphazardly so that it feels random 

Even though it might be that the main Character is interesting and this has bits and pieces especially with the characters.  that could have been more of a small town mystery but plays more sporadically and you wonder where it is going and how it will all tie together that you feel like you are floating through it all waiting for some kind of direction other then Suggestions 

Starring the director’s muse Margaret Qualley Whitney’s to play the most interesting character and gets the most range 

Of course the film has a heavy feminist feel which there is nothing wrong with but it seems to pile it on after awhile rather then necessarily subtle 

It has a supporting cast of recognizable names that are here but given very little to do except play small exaggerations and somewhat central to the plot but feel more like stunt casting to add more reverence to the rather thin material. As the characters seem interesting but are in search of a better story and meaning. As next to qualley the only actor who really makes the most of their screen time is Lena Abrova as the mysterious cheer 

Wonder if this is a way for the filmmakers to add sex and sexuality back into films that seems to be lost or unused in modern cinema but truly it isn’t erotic but more sloppy and matter of fsct

There is now doubt that Ethan Coen can do quirky and can do the same with characters, but there needs to be some kind of meaning and consideration for the audience. As this film while silly and quirky does come out feeling self indulgent and like only the filmmakers are the only ones. It only entertained but also seem to care 

As this film feels more like a lark, more like an extended episode rather then truly a whole film 

By the time we get to the entrance walls revealed it seems rather random or much ado about  it nothing and all just coincidence and interlocked and it plays more comedic then it should more like a from a John waters film 

The film has its moments but doesn’t add up to making the film feel worth it. 

Grade: C-

KIND OF KINDNESS (2024)

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Directed By: Yorgos Lanthimos 

Written By: Yorgos Lanthinos and Effhimis Filippou 

Cinematography: Robbie Ryan 

Editor: Yorgos Mavropsaridis 

Cast: Jesse Plenmons, Emma Stone, Hong Chau, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hunter Schaffer, Mamoudou Athie, Joe Alwyn, Yorgos Stefanakos 

a triptych fable, following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing at sea has returned and seems a different person; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability, who is destined to become a prodigious spiritual leader.

Fresh off the heels of his critically acclaimed Hollywood films director Yorgos Lanthimos seems to be Going back to his more experimental type of films bringing with him acclaimed actors.

On the one hand, I applaud him as he exposes more general audiences to experimental films and brings them a little more into the norm. As much as he can. Where he not only actually challenges audiences and their expectations. As well as providing material that is deeper and more thought-provoking than most. Letting them make their own minds on the stories and not hand-holding them throughout.

One only wishes that one could say it feels worth it. While one can enjoy the dynamic aspects and camerawork of his filmmaking. Though have never been the biggest fan of his early experimental work. There always seems to be a challenging renegade spirit to his work. 

Here he presents three different tales that have not only the same cast but the character of RMF to connect them. Essentially a minor character but revolving around various characters. Each tale has a theme, but all seem to include toxicity and love of some kind 

The first story revolves around a character 

Reliant on a boss so much in aspects of their life. What happens when true freedom is offered to them and not know how to survive because we have become so dependent on them. Some might say this story is an analogy of capitalism.

The second story involves a cop whose wife has gone missing at sea and he is not taking it well. Once his wife is back he is overjoyed but becomes convinced something is off and that she is an imposter. We see him seemingly break down as he tries to convince others she is not who she says she is. This story like the one before it revolves around control how comfortable one might be with it and what happens when they are not in control. It also shows how relationships can work and break once your partner makes their own decisions and doesn’t fit the ideal anymore of their partner and how people will stay in an Avis or relationship in hopes of things going back to the way they used to be and are willing to practically sacrifice themselves to make the other happy. 

The third take involves a cult. The members believe in two leaders. Who they can only have sex with. Who are in search of a young woman who can bring the dead back to life. While one of the members keeps running into their ex-husband and daughter. Eventually kicked out one member believes they have found the miracle and then plays like a tragic comedy.

This one shows our reliance on others to make us feel whole and keep us safe give us some kind of meaning and how those who love us can easily break us or betray us for their own comfort and happiness. 

Throughout all do these tales the ensemble cast plays different characters. Some of the biggest names in the cast might be the star of one tale and then a minor character in another.

The title gives away the themes, of how there are different kinds of kindness and how they can be used for good and how some use them to hurt others or have power.

As a whole, these short films coming together make an alright feature. Though separately they might not be as strong or powerful and might either come off as pretentious or offer ideas the audience already knows.

The cast is clearly having fun and in their element throughout. One only wishes it was mutual for the audience. As the film goes along the shocking moments become defining and also expected. It finds the director and cast more at play than offering anything truly strong or solid. It doesn’t seem wasteful, though it doesn’t come off as anything more than a healthy budgeted experiment.

I seemed to have not enjoyed it as much as others, especially critics.

Grade: B- 

THE SUBSTANCE (2024)

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Written & Directed by: Coralie Fargeat 

Cinematography: Benjamin Kracun  

Editor: Coralie Fargeat, Jerome Eltabet and Valentin Feron 

Cast: Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley, Dennis Quaid

A fading celebrity decides to use a black-market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

Whatever you might have heard about this film you are not entirely ready for where it takes you. 

Again this is one of those films that is best to go. Into blind. Which allows for surprises and plenty of discovery. 

It has equal parts David Lynch, David Cronenberg, and even a bit of Stanley Kubrick in style, but director Coralie Fargeat manages to make it her own.

As there are symmetrical shots and angles. Colorful production design, and plenty of gore that at first seems artistic until it truly gore for the gusto in the third act. At certain points it feels like science fiction, but more a cruel satire that truly becomes a horror movie. It also feels French and European while taking place on American soil. 

it’s amazing, disturbing, uncomfortable, and beautiful. That truly seeks to disturb, disrupt, and challenge. Which for some will make it all the more stronger. 

The film offers a full-blown assault on sensibilities and your senses. It manages to build a world while revealing so little and having limited spaces and locations. 

It haunts you afterward. Each time you think about the film, you want to go back to see if there is anything you missed. as you want to study the film. It’s that intricate, and pristine 

It’s not only the effects that are scary or disgusting but the characters. Dennis Quaid as The lead character’s manager is always his over-the-top stylish suits and seems like he cares. He twists lives in his client’s backs and eats sloppily and disgustingly. 

The film is a tale of feminism and the perils of aging for women and how they are treated in the world but especially in Hollywood and the spotlight. This film explores what some are willing to do or forced to do who choose to want to stay in the spotlight. How cruel they are treated for even trying.

It’s also a tale of greed, how there is never enough time, and how quickly it can be stolen or used. When you are younger you always think you have enough time and still want more and are more prone to be jealous that you will even betray your own best interests. How at times a person can lavishly sacrifice just to have the spotlight to themselves even as it does damage to themselves. Not playing by the rules and regretting. Losing sense of oneself.

Self-hatred giving up on yourself for others to prosper. As you feel your life isn’t worth living anymore. Too much work not enough benefits. Needing the adoration to feel worthy. 

Demi Moore gives one of them. the best performances of her career. While getting one of the best roles of her recent career. This is the perfect movie for her to make a comeback. Even as critically as most of the characters treat her. She still looks extraordinarily beautiful. The horror is that for so many years Ms. Moore has been the model for what was seen as perfect and beautiful that many women aspired to be like or look like and now here she is not considered good enough. 

It also offered her the most range in a role. Yet it also, feels familiar or like a reality she might be facing only magnified. As the film shows how aging especially for women is seen as a horror in society and how many of them have resorted to some kind of substance be it surgery, fillers, creams or ointments to try to keep their youth or look youthful. Even as it becomes a violence against themselves. Taking themselves down the. Face the reality they find themselves in. Trying to reach or keep an idealized version of themselves and literally buying into it 

At certain points, it feels like a TALES FROM THE CRYPT movie. Which only reminds the audience of Demi Moore’s appearance on that show in an episode. By the end, it also reminds the audience of another production that she was part of the animated Disney film THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. 

You could also throw in some RE-ANIMATOR. As well as the story THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. As well as THE GAME, DEATH BECOMES HER, THE TOXIC AVENGER, FIGHT CLUB, and SECONDS. With those ingredients, she used them to make something piercingly original 

It even tackles eating disorders. As when she can’t really punish or fight her double. She strikes back the only way she knows how overeating bad food. as she robs her of her youth. 

Vanity destroying yourself to give yourself more time. Almost like an addiction the same as a vampire uses blood to survive and stay young or at least keep up appearances. Usually preying on the young here it is reversed. 

As the younger self has all the promises or is given promises of course she becomes more selfish hoping to live just a bit longer. 

This film by the end becomes a fable of addiction to the limelight of fame and attention and how lonely it can become once it begins to fade. Even though you have a following how quickly they can abandon you and if you are never prepared for your eventual downfall. You have truly nothing left. How these rules seem to apply mostly unfortunately to women. Hollywood is a fickle mistress. 

Grade: A 

DRIVE-AWAY-DOLLS (2024)

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Directed By: Ethan Coen

Written By: Ethan Coen And Tricia Cooke

Cinematography: Ari Wegner

Editor: Tricia Cooke

Cast: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Joey Slotnick, C.J. Wilson, Bill Camp, Beanie Fieldstein, Annie Gonzalez, Colman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Matt Damon 

The film 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.

This film is a strange hybrid of a lesbian romantic comedy. Also having a conspiracy crime story.  That mixes competently enough but still feels like a strange mix.

The humor works in both storylines, but they both need a little bit more to be fully realized as they both feel like they could be short stories but need the other to make a full feature.

unfortunately, the film also comes off as a farce as most of the characters aren’t exactly 100% believable and we never really get enough information to really care for them or really get to know them. We know their character types but rarely get a glimpse truly inside of them.

This could’ve been an informative romantic comedy that involved lesbians but the crime story feels like it was needed to fill it out whereas the crime story feels like an idea that was never quite fully realized.

The film takes place in 1999, though the film barely acknowledges it until late, and you begin to realize that most of these misunderstandings and confusions could’ve been solved with cell phones, which is why it seems the main reason that this film takes place in the past. it seems like a lot of films will explain or keep their narrative going.

as often the editing seems abrupt and the timing seems a little off, and it keeps going into these psychedelic dreamscapes and montages that for a movie under 90 minutes quickly become very annoying, especially the volume of them. Which comes across as a throwback and an experimental device for a film that doesn’t seem encouraging to be under the influence watching.

The cameos throughout the film of favors and wanting to be associated with 1/2 of the famed Coen brothers filmmaking team. Here Ethan Coen directs and co-wrote the screenplay. The problem is that this film feels more full of comedy than any true relatability. even while we root for the main characters, they never become full-blooded, though they are likable

While the film is certainly entertaining and comes up with plenty of memorable side characters and situations. especially Margaret Qualley’s character, who you wish had a film all to herself it comes off as a bunch of great ideas that luckily work into a narrative, but are very loose.

The actors all seem to be having fun in their roles and as usual Geraldine Viswanathan. Deserves and needs more leading roles as she is just a captivating actress who ends up getting stuck at times in one-note roles luckily reveals herself to be more than meets the eye her character can change from the beginning to the end and stay believable..

This isn’t a bad movie or a terrible movie. It just feels and its own way nourished like it’s missing certain things that would make it more worthwhile. 

Grade: C 

SANCTUARY (2023)

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Directed By: Zachary Wigon 
Written By: Micah Bloomberg
Cinematography: Ludovica Isidori
Editor: Kate Brokaw and Lance Edmonds

Cast: Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley 

Follows a dominatrix and Hal, her wealthy client, and the disaster that ensues when Hal tries to end their relationship.

The film seems simple at first and will be pretty cut and dry storywise and sticks to it but you get involved and ultimately lost in the film, game, and characters 

The film reminds one of Christopher Abbott’s previous film and performance in the movie PIERCING only less life and death or violence, just darkly comedic with hints of violence. 

The films have the similarity of involving a sec worker and power plays as well seeming to be mostly bound to a hotel room only the previous film left the room 

The director Zachary Wigon adds style so as to not make this seem boring and to liven up the experience.

Truly a psychosexual domination film of games 

The film truly kicks off once Margaret Qualley’s character takes off her wig. Though the film plays more theatrical for the stage rather than a film. It keeps the Audience interested more in Qualley’s character and performance as she truly is the wildcard to Abbott’s more straight man’s performance. 

His threats always keep turning hollow and truly show the weakness of his character, Especially compared to her. 

This is Margaret Qualley’s best performance so far though probably not her most memorable which for most might still be ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD.

She is smarter than him because she has had to work her way up. whereas Abbott’s character has done what he has been told but resented that work while coasting along it and its features.

Also can be seen as a comparison and power play from a director/writer and actress who might have decided to go off script and prove their defiant character and talent 

You can see the characters’ codependency with one another, one reluctantly. the other more willingly and knowingly. You can see it from the many times either could truly walk away but seems willing or fighting to prolong it against their so-called requests. As it easily could end plenty of times. 

A kind of love story when it comes to power, communication, and trust with another person who knows you the most or at least your secrets 

The ending feels like a throwback to a classic comedy and more of a fantasy or dream than reality 

The film gets more intense as it goes along. Like the characters no matter how hard I resisted, continuously felt myself falling for the film even though or against my will

Grade: B 

NATIVE SON (2019)

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nativeson1

Directed By: Rashid Johnson
Written By: Suzan Lori-Parks
Based on the Novel By: Richard Wright
Cinematography: Matthew Libatique
Editor: Brad Turner 

Cast: Ashton Sanders, Kiki Layne, Margaret Qualley, Nick Robinson, Bill Camp, Elizabeth Marvel, David Alan Grier, Sanaa Lathan, Lamar Johnson 


A young African-American living in Chicago enters into a seductive new world of money and power after he is hired as a chauffeur for an affluent businessman. Continue reading “NATIVE SON (2019)” →