Honey Don’t Review: A Stylish but Uneven Coen Solo Mystery

Ethan Coen’s Honey Don’t struggles to tie its mystery together.

With the release of ‘Honey Don’t’, Ethan Coen now has two narrative directorial features under his belt since he and his brother Joel decided to take some time apart to work on different projects a few years ago. Similar to Ethan Coen’s ‘Drive Away Dolls‘ in 2024, ‘Honey Don’t!’ has all the proper ingredients for what we have come to expect from the work of the Coens, but there’s a lack of cohesion that doesn’t allow the product to come together in the way you’d like.

Margaret Qualley stars as Honey O’Donahue, a private investigator looking into the death of a woman who intersects with a religious cult led by Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans). Honey receives assistance from police officer MG Falcone (Aubrey Plaza) and private detective Marty Metakawich (Charlie Day) as she follows the mystery at hand..

Performances, Visual Style, and Direction

The major problem is that the various mystery plot threads don’t tie together satisfyingly. There are interesting pieces, sure, with flashes of violence and true suspense, but there’s no cohesion or payoff to almost anything. At only 89 minutes in length, the movie moves at a brisk pace. But this comes at the expense of leaving stories unfinished or with little follow-up.

Margaret Qualley‘s star power brings energy to the movie, in a performance that still manages to be big but not over-the-top in the way her ‘Drive Away Dolls’ performance was. She’s a truly captivating actress who can effortlessly transition between comedy and drama, while still convincingly delivering a punch when necessary. The supporting performances from Evans and Day are great, and Plaza is in her deadpan lane that we know her for, while also getting some dramatic scenes to chew on herself. It’s not any of the performances that are the issue here; it really comes down to the narrative.

Ari Wegner’s cinematography also looks great, which is a huge plus. In a movie that leaves you wanting more narratively, at least it’s filled with captivating imagery and solid performances.

Verdict

As someone who loves the work of the Coen’s, it’s difficult to see some of the parts that make them so great without the satisfactory whole. While I root for the Coens as individuals, a project like this is likely to leave fans begging them to reunite already. The obvious pun to make about ‘Honey Don’t’ is to advise audiences: honey, don’t. However, that’s not entirely fair, as there are some truly great moments here; it’s just a shame they don’t amount to much.

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