Imagine a world where your biggest worry is what dress to wear to tonight’s cocktail party. You live in a scenic, suburban paradise with all of your greatest friends and your husband is Harry Styles. Welcome to one of the year’s most anticipated films, Don’t Worry Darling.
Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling follows couple Alice and Jack Chambers, played by Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, as they live a picturesque, 1950’s life in Victory, California. Jack, alongside other husbands in town, work in the ‘Victory Project’ headed by Frank, played by Chris Pine. Life is utopia with cocktail parties, ballet class, shopping, gossip and devoted housewives who keep their husbands happy. Things take a turn, however, when Alice’s curiosity about the true goals of the Victory Project lead her to madness.
I think the drama surrounding the cast of Don’t Worry Darling drew more people to the theaters than its publicists ever could. Numerous controversies such as a relationship between Wilde and Styles, a potential feud between Pugh and Wilde, Styles allegedly spitting on Pine during the film’s premiere and more have created intense interest in the film from social media users globally.
Going into the film, I was a bit worried. I had seen extremely mixed reviews on social media and Rotten Tomatoes. Also, as an avid Harry Styles fan, I would not know what to do with myself if the movie was truly bad. However, I tried to put all previously conceived notions aside.
Costuming and Setting
The first thing that caught my attention was the film’s aesthetic. Costume designer Arianne Phillips effectively captures the post-war, American dream era style without coming off as fake or cheesy. Residents of Victory look like they have been plucked from a vintage catalog.
The town of Victory is a 1950’s utopia hidden within a vast desert. Perfectly manicured lawns lined with palm trees, Levittown style homes, colorful, vintage cars and luxury pools stand as a juxtaposition to the barren desert that lays beyond the town. The contrast between the suburb and the surrounding area creates an uneasiness from the film’s beginning. Everything seems too perfect.
Casting
It is evident that casting for the role of Alice was pivotal for the movie’s success and the producers should be proud that they chose Florence Pugh. Alice’s slow journey into madness throughout the course of the film is intense. As the film progresses, Alice loses her grip on reality and makes viewers question everything. Pugh’s ability to convey these traits of Alice is masterful.
While Styles was a great choice for publicity, his acting was subpar. Styles could hold the part of ‘the 1950’s husband,’ but some of the scenes that required more intense acting felt forced. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, acting alongside Pugh is not easy. Even some of the most experienced actors are outshined by her ability to steal a scene and Styles is known as a musician, not an actor.
The supporting cast contains a lot of big names. Chris Pine serves as Victory’s mysterious leader, Frank. Pine serves as a ‘big brother’ type of character and delivers total creep energy throughout the entirety of the film. His performance leaves audiences wondering how he plays into this environment. Olivia Wilde plays Alice’s next door neighbor and best friend, Bunny. Despite the suspected offscreen drama between Wilde and Pugh, they manage to remain friendly on screen. Wilde’s performance is fine, but nothing special.
Other big name supporting actors include Gemma Chan, as Shelley, and Nick Kroll, as Bill, could only work with what they are given in the script. While Chan is capable of giving an excellent performance, the script underutilized her and the same could be said for Kroll. Social media buzz showed that audience goers were excited to see Kroll’s name on the cast list, but he was simply the Chambers’ next-door neighbor and nothing more. Why bother casting such big names for such mediocre characters?
Intimacy
Don’t Worry Darling received a lot of buzz when its trailer featured Pugh and Styles sharing an intimate scene. However, Pugh has recently expressed her distaste for including this scene in the trailer. When asked about the scene in a Harper’s Bazaar interview, Pugh responded, “That’s just not what I’m going to be discussing because [this movie is] bigger and better than that. And the people who made it are bigger and better than that.”
And Pugh is right. While the movie does show a few intimate scenes between Alice and Jack, it is only a portion of the film’s overall message about womanhood.
Soundtrack
The film’s soundtrack is deliberately contradictory. In some scenes, classic, upbeat, 1950’s tunes like “Twilight Time” by The Platters and “The Oogum Boogum Song” by Brenton Wood are used to encapsulate the era’s energy. In others, anxious beats play to reflect Alice’s internal conflict. The well known songs work perfectly to oppose the anxiety that Alice is feeling to create uneasiness in the audience.
*THIS SECTION CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DON’T WORRY DARLING*
Plot
The main issues that come with Don’t Worry Darling lay within its plot, or lack thereof. For the first one and a half hours of the two hour film, viewers follow Alice as she notices things are not what they seem in Victory. The audience is left wondering the answers to the many questions that are brought up for far too long. In the end half of the questions are not even answered.
For example, in the beginning of the film, Alice’s former friend Margaret is introduced. After having an outlash at a party at Frank’s house, she slowly loses her mind. A flashback shows that Margaret started to go crazy after her son died in the desert surrounding Victory. Halfway through the movie, Margaret harms herself and is taken by men in red suits. Alice witnesses this and is hysterical, but no one believes what she saw. Margaret is never seen, or mentioned again. This is the case with many of the oddities that happen in the movie, which are never explained or addressed again.
The Ending
The ending of this movie almost reminds me of when you would end your middle school creative writing paper with “and then I woke up.” Turns out, the entire time Jack was forcing Alice to take part in the Victory Project simulation. When the big reveal happened I was honestly more confused at the logistics of the whole operation than shocked at the plot twist.
Overall, I am still confused about my feelings towards Don’t Worry Darling. On one hand, I truly enjoyed many aspects of the film such as the aesthetic and the music. On the other hand, multiple plot holes have left me more confused than satisfied with the ending. Though I wanted to absolutely love this movie, I am having trouble finalizing my feelings. That being said, it is still definitely worth checking out Don’t Worry Darling in theaters!