Honey Don't Trailer: Margaret Qualley Click-Clacks Into Chris Evans' Chapel

      In Ethan Coen’s *Honey Don’t*, Margaret Qualley portrays a small-town private investigator known for her click-clacking high heels as she delves into an investigation of mysterious deaths linked to a church led by a charismatic preacher, played by Chris Evans. This marks the second feature co-written by Coen and Tricia Cooke, the married duo behind the upcoming lesbian road movie thriller, *Drive-Away Dolls*.

      The trailer hints that the heels will be a recurring motif as Qualley’s character, O’Donahue, goes about her work.

      “Love those click-clacking heels,” a police officer, portrayed by Aubrey Plaza, remarks from an evidence locker as Honey makes her exit. Although no further conversation occurs, they appear to share a connection.

      The *Honey Don’t* trailer humorously highlights that Ethan Coen is teaming up with Cooke instead of his brother and longtime collaborator, Joel Coen, by featuring the on-screen credit: “From a Director of Fargo and No Country for Old Men.” (The brothers parted ways after 2018’s *The Ballad of Buster Scruggs*, but are reportedly planning to reunite soon.)

      Charlie Day also appears, along with a quick glimpse of Honey’s license plate: HNYDONT.

      Margaret Qualley, Ethan Coen, and Tricia Cooke Collaborate Again for *Honey Don’t*

      As detailed in our February 2024 cover story about how *Drive-Away Dolls* came to be, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke first met when she was a recent NYU film graduate who came to New Orleans to work on Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1989 movie *Miller’s Crossing*.

      “Ethan asked me out, and we went to see *Drugstore Cowboy*,” Tricia Cooke recounted to MovieMaker. “I told him, ‘I’m a lesbian, I’m not interested.’”

      By 1993, they were married and had two children. She edited many of the Coens’ most celebrated films, including *The Big Lebowski*, 2000’s *O Brother, Where Art Thou?*, and 2001’s *The Man Who Wasn’t There*.

      Cooke also created her own films from a queer perspective, co-directing the 2008 short *Don’t Mess With Texas* with Carrie Schrader. She co-wrote this film about two young lesbians encountering trouble at a diner with Coen.

      “Being married to Ethan and being queer sometimes creates a little disconnect,” she joked. “I wanted the opportunity to make queer films as well.”

      Their marriage has evolved into what Cooke describes as “a very non-traditional marriage and relationship where there’s a larger unit... I have a partner, and Ethan has another partner.” They continued their collaborative creative efforts, including an early draft of *Drive-Away Dolls* under a different title.

      “We wrote *Drive-Away Dykes* together many years ago as a way to spend time together,” Cooke shared.

      *Drive-Away Dolls*, which served as Ethan Coen’s solo directorial debut, was edited by Cooke and received acclaim for the performances of Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan as lesbian best friends who embark on a road trip and become entangled in a criminal scheme.

      The *Honey Don’t* trailer conveys the same cool, effortlessly chaotic vibe, featuring characters who nonchalantly cling to tenuous threads.

      Coen's stylistic touches are abundant: One clue in the case involves a ring for Evans’ church called the Four-Way Temple. (We soon observe Evans’ character, Reverend Drew, engaged in an ambiguous four-way scenario.) A briefcase reminiscent of the one in *Drive-Away Dolls* appears, alongside a chaotic crime scene—managed by Day’s character—that brings to mind the pivotal moment when Josh Brolin’s Llewelyn Moss makes a life-altering choice in 2007’s *No Country for Old Men*, which garnered four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Joel and Ethan Coen.

      The trailer features a perfect needle drop: Dusty Springfield’s rendition of “Spooky” plays, growing increasingly eerie as the intrigue surrounding Honey and the Four-Way Temple unfolds.

      *Honey Don’t* is set to premiere in theaters on August 22, under Focus Features.