Performances: :star::star::star::star::star:
Cinematography: :star::star::star:1/2
Script: :star::star::star:
Music: :star::star:
Editing: :star:1/2

Not bad for the lesser Coen's (sorry Ethan) first solo outing. It's easy to see, looking back, which elements of the '04-'18 Coen era were more distinctly Ethan's, or at least, less distinctly Joel's. It's therefore difficult to discern whether Dolls is set in the late 90's on accident, or because that aesthetic makes up 100% of Ethan's comfort zone. I only wish it were a little longer; it felt like the entire third act got dropped on the cutting room floor by a particularly clumsy intern. It did set me on a path researching the real-life Cynthia Plaster Caster, though

I only ranked the music so low because Carter Burwell is credited as writing the score (his unique musical style shines through during the opening scene), but most of the soundtrack is licensed music. In a vacuum, there's nothing wrong with licensed music, BUT YOU'VE GOT CARTER MOTHERF**KING BURWELL SITTING IN THE CORNER WITH HIS THUMB UP HIS @$$, PUT HIS OSCAR-NOMINATED TALENTS TO USE FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!

P.S. Moments before I bought my tickets to see this, my co-worker told me they had walked out on the film the night before. I thought they were trying to tell me it was a bad movie. They weren't, and it isn't. I can only attempt to glean that they walked out for the same reason certain folks might have walked out of Poor Things. And trust me, if you made it through Poor Things, you can definitely make it though this. iykyk