You’re an OG if you’ve been a fan of Harry Styles since his One Direction days. Harry Styles has become huge in the media world – people idolize his music, fashion, and charming looks. But Harry Styles has recently added “actor” to his resume. Starting with his side role in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, Harry Styles has been supplementing his songwriting and singing with a hint of acting. Recently, Harry Styles has co-starred in his partner Olivia Wilde’s film Don’t Worry Darling with Florence Pugh. Joined by Chris Pine from Star Trek and Gemma Chan from Crazy Rich Asians, Don’t Worry Darling has a stacked cast with the ex-One Direction member as one of the main stars. You can watch Don’t Worry Darling now through HBO Max and don’t worry (darling) – Bentley provides free HBO subscriptions to its on-campus students! I recently watched Don’t Worry Darling with my roommates and here’s what I thought (without spoiling the movie).
The set of the movie truly is a classic, post-war American neighborhood. Manicured lawns, freshly painted houses, and well-kept living rooms, Don’t Worry Darling is set in the American ‘utopia.’ The men are dressed to the nines in suits and the women are dolled up in dresses and curled hair. Jack, Harry’s character, drives a beautiful vintage convertible to work everyday, carrying a briefcase and wearing his best suit, while Alice (Florence’s character) waves him off from the driveway with the other neighborhood wives and their husbands.
However, the tone of the movie shifts when Alice begins questioning the neighborhood and their life. She keeps having ‘hallucinations’ and these are only validated when another wife in the neighborhood starts pointing out their society’s irregularities too. Alice starts to look into why all the husbands leave for work at ‘Headquarters’ everyday, and why the wives aren’t allowed to follow.
Florence Pugh shows Alice’s true character arch with her incredible acting skills. She show’s Alice’s shift from naive, lovestruck wife to the society’s rebel. However, Harry Styles has been ridiculed for his acting after the movie’s release, with reviews saying he should stick to singing.
After watching the movie myself, I can see where these critics are coming from. Harry’s performance is no match for Florence’s skills as a seasoned actress. When combined, Florence’s portrayal feels natural, realistic, and intimate while Harry’s feels forced, theatric, and ironic.
But this doesn’t mean I think Harry is a bad actor – I think he has a lot of room to grow in the film industry. I think Jack’s character might have been too ‘cheesy’ of a role for him to play, despite his perfect looks for the role. Jack’s role as the doting but manipulative partner feels like a common trope we’ve seen in other movies and shows (Euphoria’s Nate and Maddy are coming to mind for me!) and because this role is so familiar in the media, it feels like Harry’s portrayal doesn’t feel that realistic or authentic. In other words, it feels like he’s just playing the role, not being the role.
But don’t let Harry’s underwhelming acting skills stop you from watching the movie. This psychological thriller is guaranteed to keep your attention and have you wondering if you’d want to live in this utopia that Olivia Wilde created.
What did you think of Don’t Worry Darling?