In the film “Goodbye Dolls”, Coen and Cooke created a tandem. They collaborated on all aspects of production from beginning to end – from the idea, through the script, production, direction and editing. They invited a galaxy of stars to work on this black comedy. “Goodbye Dolls” starred such outstanding actors and actresses as Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Pedro Pascal, Colman Domingo, Bill Camp and Matt Damon.
Ethan Coen and Tricia Cook drew inspiration from genre cinema and then creatively transformed selected motifs. This is a style loved by the duo Ethan and his brother, Joel. In “Goodbye Dolls” we will find elements of a black criminal farce and melodrama.
After the premiere in the USA, which took place on February 20, critics praised, among others, Greatly drawn and played characters, pace of action and finesse of the script. The atmosphere of the film gradually thickens, until at the end there is a spectacular “explosion”.
Broken hearts, a valuable shipment and criminals capable of anything
The action takes place at the end of 1999. One dark night in Philadelphia, a man named Santos (Pedro Pascal) is waiting for a man who is to deliver him an important and mysterious shipment. However, fate will soon cruelly mock Santos.
At the same time, Jamie (Margaret Qualley) is mourning his breakup with his girlfriend. Sukie (Beanie Feldstein), who is jealous and always suspects her of cheating, chases her out of the apartment. In turn, Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan) has been unhappy in her love life for a long time. So the girls decide to go on a journey together to break away from their unpleasant everyday life.
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They go to Tallahassee in a rented car to visit their aunt, Marian, who lives there. Jamie sets himself the goal of amusing the too serious Marian, he may even want to hit on her. However, they have no idea how much of an “entertaining” journey awaits them. Due to unforeseen coincidences, the girls receive the keys to a car in a rental shop where a valuable parcel is hidden. The hellish ride begins.
An all-star cast
The actresses who played Jamie and Marian, Margaret Qualley and Geraldine Viswanathan, receive great reviews. We recently saw the first of them in the role of Felicity in “Poor Creatures”. Quelley also played, among others, one of the main roles in the series “The Cleaner”. Geraldine Viswanathan is known, for example, from the series “Lover Dangerous” and “Miracle Workers: The Oregon Trail”.
The cast of the film “Goodbye Dolls” also includes such celebrities as Matt Damon. The Oscar winner for “Rebel Without a Cause” plays the role of a perverse and corrupt politician.
The role of the unlucky collector was played by Pedro Pascal, an actor known from such hit series as “The Last of Us”, “Game of Thrones” and “The Mandalorian”. Pedro Pascal is now a sought-after actor. Recently, he talked in one of the interviews about how he deals with the huge amount of text he has to learn by heart while preparing for TV series and film roles. He called his method “psychopathic” and presented a sheet of script with letters crossed out in a specific way.
The Coen brothers after their breakup
Ethan Coen and his brother Joel Coen have been a masterful duo for years. It can be said that they created a new quality in contemporary cinema. They have such cult hits as, among others: “Fargo”, “Barton Fink”, “The Big Lebowski”, “No Country for Old Men”, “True Grit” and “A Serious Man”.
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The Coens have developed an individual style. They were inspired by, among others: the poetics of film noir, and they added irony and black humor. They juggled motifs and played with conventions to give viewers an original and delightful film. The creators each time skillfully used diverse characters in their films so that the viewer could see how absurdity creeps into human life. The Coens’ characters often deal with it quite clumsily, which creates situations that are both comical and dangerous.
Brothers Ethan and Joel Coen created together. As they explained, they somehow had to sign the so-called payrolls, Joel was most often listed as a director, and Ethan – as a screenwriter and producer. They made their debut in 1984 with a film titled “Deadly simple.” In 2021, they announced that they were suspending their brotherly cooperation on films and each of them went their separate ways. Since then, Joel Coen has shown his self-made “Macbeth”. We had to wait a while for Ethan’s film, “Goodbye Dolls”. Reviews from overseas show that it was worth it.
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Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
