There is an undeniable allure to certain filmmakers simply because they possess the knack for creating work that demands your attention. Ethan Coen, regardless of whether he is collaborating with his brother Joel Coen or his wife Tricia Cooke, is one of those exceptional filmmakers. His creations go beyond mere cinematic skill; they exude a distinct perspective and vision that is evident in every scene, performance, and meticulously crafted script line.

However, Coen’s latest work, “Honey Don’t!” is particularly disappointing and frustrating because of its numerous missed opportunities. It’s not an awful film by any means. In fact, at times, it is genuinely entertaining, showcasing Coen and Cooke’s continued flair for magic and charm. Nevertheless, this dark comedy about crime, featuring Margaret Qualley as a go-getting private detective, seems to lack a real sense of direction.

Margaret Qualley takes on the role of Honey O’Donahue, a clever, resilient private investigator in Bakersfield, California. Her suspicions are piqued when a potential client she was scheduled to meet ends up dead in what appears to be a car accident. As she fends off the flirtations of local police detective Marty (played by Charlie Day) and assists her sister (Kristen Connolly), Honey delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the woman who sought her help.

She unravels a tangled, rather haphazard web of events seemingly linked to a local church headed by a charismatic and adventurous preacher (portrayed by Chris Evans). Additionally, she encounters MG Falcone, an alluring local cop (Aubrey Plaza), who rapidly becomes Honey’s new romantic interest.

This narrative is set up to play with classic elements of the private investigator genre, a theme explored by Ethan Coen with his brother in films like “Blood Simple,” ranked among the best Coen Brothers’ works. Honey’s dialogue mirrors Humphrey Bogart, her style channels Lauren Bacall, and she navigates a town preserving a bygone era reminiscent of Robert Altman’s “The Long Goodbye,” sans the beach. Coupled with the B-movie stylistic nods to filmmakers like Russ Meyer, these elements are sure to captivate the audience, even before noted actors join Qualley’s lead portrayal.

So, what’s the issue? All the necessary components are present; we understand the tone Coen and Tricia Cooke (his co-writer) are setting, and have witnessed their madcap approach in their prior feature “Drive-Away Dolls” (also reviewed by Looper). This project’s success seems inevitable, right? Precisely. It should succeed, yet when it falls short, the narrative quickly becomes disjointed.

The first act of “Honey Don’t!” moves along like a freight train, layering in comedy, quirky characters, and the kind of B-movie aura that Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke are clearly going for. We know who the protagonist is, what she wants, what she’s hoping to get out of her search. We know she’s emotionally closed off from people around her, and that her keen analytical mind doesn’t miss much. We’re all set up for a crime adventure.

Then the second act arrives, and while certain threads from the first remain in place, things get tangled. New characters arrive who either make little impact or feel like they should be a bigger deal than they actually are. Moments set up to create some kind of emotional punch pass by like tumbleweeds, then disappear altogether. More side-stories muddy the 89-minute runtime, to the point that you’re left wondering if you’ve only watched part of a movie. It would be naive to assume that none of this was intentional, and Coen and Cooke are clearly inspired by films that would’ve been heavily trimmed with a lot left implied in the story simply because of their exploitation roots. But that doesn’t hide the cracks, and neither does the competence.

And the competence is definitely there. Margaret Qualley’s not doing her best work, and can’t surpass what she does in “Drive-Away Dolls,” but your eye still instantly goes to her. Aubrey Plaza’s a great foil for Qualley in this kind of film, Chris Evans is clearly having a blast, and Charlie Day almost steals the whole movie as a cop who just can’t understand the way Honey’s daily life is different from his own. The film is crisp and bright and well-shot and staged. It just … never coalesces, and while a film doesn’t need any kind of message or satisfying conclusion to work, it does need a sense of direction. By the time it’s over, “Honey Don’t!” has lost what little direction it had, leaving its deliberate over-the-top qualities feeling hollow, and its attempts at depth feeling shallow. There’s a lot to like, but all of those things don’t make a whole, and we’re left wanting something more.

“Honey Don’t!” hits theaters on August 22.