Honey Don't! (Coen, 2025) - Cannes Film Festival

"More queer cinema all the time."

Honey Don’t! is on the right track for a new tone of sapphic films that could bring audiences in.

Written by Hailey Passmore

Just one year after their previous attempt at a sapphic thriller, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke are back with their newest films, Honey Don’t! While it still may not be perfection, their latest attempt to break into the world of gay cinema with this film is a major step up after 2024’s Drive Away Dolls. Not only have they added a bit more intimacy to their characters, but they’ve also partnered again with Margaret Qualley, who has stolen the show and given them the performance they needed for a film of this caliber. Honey Don’t! might not be an Academy Award winning film, but it sure is a mix of pure fun and silliness!

Honey Don’t! follows small-town private investigator Honey O’Donahue (Qualley) as her latest clientele brings her deep into a series of strange activities. Honey begins to consider the reasoning behind one death, which leads to more unusual deaths, all seemingly associated with a mysterious church group. As Honey goes about her investigation, it becomes violently clear how into women she is, explicitly stating to police detective Marty (Charlie Day), “I like girls” on multiple occasions. We're then introduced to Chris Evans as the insane Reverend Drew, a man whom Honey believes is suspicious. Throughout the film, Honey is assisted in her pursuit of the truth by policewoman MG (Aubrey Plaza) and is assisted in more ways than just professionally. In 90 minutes of twists and turns and crazy events, Honey solves the case (or at least one of them), and the results are far from what one may have been led to believe.

The film opens in typical Coen style with hilarious camera shots and specific freeze-frame moments. Audiences are introduced to the small town of Bakersfield, California, and the scene is set as the opening credits are shown. Coen reminds us that though he is expanding into a new genre of films (queer cinema), he is still the same filmmaker who crafted films such as The Big Lebowski (1998). Gore and gunshots, and the prevalent themes common in Coen’s films all curated together in Honey Don’t! expanding queer cinema further from the romance or comedy and more into the thriller genre.

In 90 minutes, there is only so much content and plot that can be covered and developed. In the case of Honey Don’t! the short runtime took away some proper and perhaps crucial character development. While Honey's character was well introduced and developed, it was as though the other characters, some of which felt essential to the plot, were introduced in the most random and quickest ways - as if there was not enough time allotted to allow them to be fully established or for their full stories (within the vicinity of the film) to be closed. By the end of the film, some stones were most definitely left unturned, character and plot-wise. Some of them would be introduced (such as Reverend Drew’s lackies, or even the Reverend himself ), and then would be finished with on a whim. Moments like this caused questioning of where they went, what happened to them, or even why they were relevant.

Thankfully, Qualley returns to the screen and holds nothing back. Her pure charm and luster steal the show. As it appears Qualley continues to be Coen’s queer heroine, she embodies the pure self-confident Honey while allowing queer audiences to resonate with the character. Unlike some films, Honey is a strong queer female who does not let her sexuality define her. As she constantly reminds her acquaintances that she “likes women”, they seem to never hear her, as seen through detective Marty constantly flirting with her throughout the film. Choosing to include this in the film shows how Coen and Cooke understand how the world views and dismisses queer women. Qualley stuns and is at the height of glamour and mystique through her role as Honey, bringing the audience further into the world of Bakersfield, California.

Along with Qualley’s performance and her chemistry with Plaza, films of this caliber require more than just characters. Honey Don’t! has a surprising plot twist of which, at least for me, is impossible to predict. Unless you are constantly picking out and predicting the plot twists in films, the ending of Honey Don’t! might just have you shocked. Coen’s love to divert from where audiences may assume the plot is going to lead, and though there were loose ends, they definitely diverted from what one would have originally assumed Honey’s case would reveal.

With the Cannes Film Festival choosing Honey Don’t! as one of its world premiere films, it allowed for a film showcasing lesbians to be seen at a large-scale and prestigious film festival. Stated by Tricia Cooke amidst the Cannes Film Festival standing ovation, “more queer cinema all the time” there is nevertheless a noticeable fact that the film was still directed by a man and features primarily the male gaze when focusing on our female protagonists and antagonists. That being said, Honey Don’t! is on the right track for a new tone of sapphic films that could bring audiences in.

Honey Don’t! had its world premiere at the 78th Cannes Film Festival as part of the midnight premieres on the 24th of May. Receiving a six and a six-and-a-half-minute standing ovation, the cast and crew were truly moved by the audience’s reception. 

The film is set to release in the US and Canada on August 22, and hopefully, more territories will receive release dates soon.

Photo : Focus Features

Also published on watchedbyhailey.blogspot.com