Drive Away Dolls marks Ethan Coen’s first feature film he’s done without his brother in tow—and the first he’s written alongside his wife, Tricia Cooke. The movie, set in 1999, features an all-star cast of Geraldine Viswanathan, Margaret Qualley, Beanie Feldstein, Matt Damon, Colman Domingo, and Pedro Pascal.
So, what can viewers expect from the film? I would describe it as a female-led road trip movie with many unexpected twists and turns along the way. It’s a testament to female friendship, the honest pursuit of love, and the importance of lesbian bars across the country.
The Daily Dot sat down with two stars of the film—Geraldine Viswanathan and Beanie Feldstein—last week to talk about the film, their characters, and what it was like to work on a movie set in the Y2K era.
DAILY DOT: Geraldine, in what ways are you like your character Marian?
GERALDINE VISWANATHAN: I feel like at first glance, I thought I was quite different to Marian. I felt like more of a ‘Jamie’ in the personality quiz, ‘Are You Jamie or Marian?’ but I then quickly realized that I am actually totally a Marian.
I think just I related to her sort of sensitivity and having kind of a big, easily bruised heart that she’s like very protective of. Yeah, just, you know, she’s cozy. She wants to just, like, cuddle up with a book and go birding. I think I also want to do that.
DD: And Beanie, what about you? Are you at all like Suzanne, aka Sukie?
BEANIE FELDSTEIN: I don’t think that I am. Although I do—she brought out like the kind of little sister two older brothers side of me where you’re just like, at a certain point, I’ve hit my limit, and I have to fight back. Suki gets there much faster than I did growing up.
But you know, you do learn to be scrappy when you’re surrounded by men. She’s a female cop in the ’90s—a female queer career cop in the late ’90s. So I’m really not as angry or as abrasive, but it was really fun to play.
DD: Beanie, a quick follow-up: I was seriously impressed with your stunts in the film. Did you train to learn self-defense for the movie, or watch a lot of YouTube clips?
BF: Our stunt coordinator is a woman my size, which is rare. Most of the time stunt coordinators are like tall, big guys. And her assistant was a tall, big guy. So it was perfect because they would kind of demonstrate and then C.J. [Wilson]—who plays one of the goons, the one that I fight—we would mimic them. They were the exact height ratio and everything, and so it’s kind of like learning choreography.
It’s definitely very precise. But the color shade of red that both C.J. and I turn is really funny. I was watching [the film] get I was like oh my god, that rosacea?
GV: I was going to say, how did you do that?
BF: Oh no, it was just because we’re actually, like, pushing against each other on that thing.
GV: Right, it’s real!
BF: So you have to like the rosacea, just like, flying.
DD: Speaking of the movie being set in the ’90s, I noticed that Suzanne was rocking some chunky highlights in the film which were very of the times. Did either of you have any favorite Y2K looks or artifacts from the film?
BF: Yeah, I loved the hair. Laurie, our brilliant head of the hair department, created this bob with the chunky blonde highlights, which I think is unexpected. She brought such a life to the character with that choice. We loved the fashion.
GV: I love the fashion. And love the landlines! You know, no mobile phones. I think it’s hard to make this kind of movie with phones and then, you know, tracking devices and stuff. I love that a lot of the drama plays out over the landline.
DD: Without giving the plot away, there’s a moment in the film where Colman Domingo’s character worries about something precious ending up on eBay. What’s the weirdest thing either of you have ever bid for on eBay?
GV: Great question.
BF: I never have.
GV: I’m trying to think! Surely, vintage designer stuff. It’s not that crazy — maybe back in the day, like, Beanie Babies.
BF: No, I don’t think I ever have!
Drive Away Dolls hits theaters nationwide on February 23rd.
