Margaret Qualley, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke on their new dark comedy, ‘Honey Don’t!’

Ethan Coen‘s latest film is the dark comedy Honey Don’t!

Margaret Qualley stars as the titular Honey O’Donahue, a small-town private investigator who explores a series of strange deaths that are tied to a mysterious church.

There’s much about the film that feels modern, as it is a dark comedy about a lesbian detective. But there’s also a lot about Honey Don’t!, including the cool confidence of its main character, that is reminiscent of classic noir.

Qualley told ABC Audio that Coen and his wife, co-writer and producer Tricia Cooke, recommended a lot of older movies for Qualley to watch in preparation of taking on the role of Honey.

“The Long Goodbye, [The] Maltese Falcon, Fat City, a lot of Humphrey Bogart performances and Lauren Bacall — a time when cinema was less realistic, more aspirational,” Qualley said. “There’s a good amount of care that goes into performing ease.”

Cooke said Qualley could rival the stars of the old Hollywood system with this performance.

“To us, Margaret could have been part of the Hollywood system back in the ’40s and ’50s,” Cooke said. “She can do everything. She sings, she dances, she can act.”

Coen echoed Cooke’s statement, saying, “Spencer Tracy said you got to remember your lines and not bump into the furniture, and I can’t remember Margaret bumping into the furniture even once.”

Honey Don’t! arrives in theaters on Friday. 

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