Cannes 2025: Six minute standing ovation for Ethan Coen’s ‘Honey Don’t!’
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(Credits: Focus Features)
Ethan Coen’s queer detective movie Honey Don’t!, starring Margaret Qualley, Aubrey Plaza, and Chris Evans, wowed the Cannes crowd and received a six-minute standing ovation.
The premiere was pushed back 30 minutes, so the movie didn’t kick off until nearly 12:30am local time. This may have been due to complications with a Cannes-wide power outage caused by a “malicious act” that caused earlier technical difficulties.
“That’s a fun way to end the festival,” Coen declared after the movie finished, hushing the clapping crowd. “Oh, and short, for a movie that started after midnight. Very humane.” Writer Tricia Cooke shouted: “More queer cinema all the time!”
Qualley’s husband, producer Jack Antonoff, also attended the show. The credits revealed that Antonoff and Coen collaborated on three songs for the film that Qualley performed.
Qualley previously expressed her joy at making the movie: “I just love Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke so damn much and love being on their set. I can hardly put into words how special making that movie was for me and working with Aubrey Plaza, who is one of my favourite actors and people of all time.”
The project has previously been described as the second entry of a “lesbian B-movie trilogy” that follows the unorthodox Drive-Away Dolls. However, the trailer cements the movie’s stand-alone personality, zipping between hilarious clips, slapstick gore, and violence.
Qualley plays Honey, a smooth and stealthy private investigator who is tasked with uncovering the curious workings of a suspicious church led by a character played by Chris Evans. Plaza plays Qualley’s love interest. The film draws inspiration from noir classics like The Long Goodbye and Fat City.
Elsewhere at the festival, Jafar Panahi’s It Was Just an Accident was awarded the coveted ‘Palme d’Or’. Cate Blanchett, Juliette Binoche, Halle Berry, Dieudo Hamadi, Hong Sang-soo, Payal Kapadia, Carlos Reygadas, Alba Rohrwacher, Leïla Slimani, and Jeremy Strong presented the closing ceremony.
Honey Don’t! will hit cinemas on August 22nd.
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