WARNING: DWD Spoilers Ahead!
I was lucky enough to see Don’t Worry Darling on opening night surrounded by a full theater of Harry Styles fans and film lovers alike. It was heavily advertised as a psychological thriller, so that part of it had everyone equally as nervous as they were excited. However, a lot of people on social media are confused about parts of the movie that are seemingly not supposed to be there, therefore calling them plot holes. So, what do these ‘plot holes’ really mean?
In short summary, main protagonist Alice (played by Florence Pugh) started to question her dystopian, 1950s community in which she lived in with her husband Jack (played by Harry Styles). After one of her fellow housewives becomes paranoid about their world, Alice investigates beyond the neighborhood and discovers the headquarters all of the husbands go to for the day at their supposed “jobs.” This furthers her suspicion and we eventually learn that the Victory Project is really a simulation aimed to control women.
Some aspects of the movie are confusing. Completely understandable, considering a lot of psychological movies like this use foreshadowing and small symbols. In fact, I didn’t know how to point these out myself until I started going to movies constantly with my film-major best friend. But for everyone confused, here are some of the major plot holes, explained:
1. The Airplane. First and foremost, the plane that Alice sees crash into the mountains while she’s on the trolley could be one of many things. It could be a glitch in the simulation or a hallucination, but it ties back to the same thing. What we do know is that the plane is the same red plane Margaret’s son carried when he died, so it could have just been simple foreshadowing. Considering only Alice saw it, it was most likely a hallucination – a sign, just like Margaret’s appearance in the mirror at ballet practice, luring her into the desert.
2. The Eggs. This one isn’t as significant, but still left people questioning. In one scene sort of early in the movie, Alice is cooking, as always, and notices that the eggs she’s using are empty. This is because she decided to make deviled eggs last minute instead of making tuna, and because it wasn’t in the usual routine of eggs for breakfast, the eggs were empty when she crushed them. So, in short, it was a glitch in the system.
3.The Earthquakes. The earthquakes were another glitch. Throughout the movie, glitches like this happen randomly hinting at a simulation. There is no specific reason for the earthquakes that we know of, but just like any simulation, nothing is perfect. Because perfection is interrupted by chaos, which is exactly what slowly builds up during the entirety of the film. It ends with the lights at the end exploding, a visual representation of the perfect world being destroyed by chaos.
4. Jack’s Dance. Jack’s tap routine at the promotion banquet was kind of funny to watch (especially surrounded by Harry Styles fans), but it served to show how controlled everyone is by Frank. Jack, just like everyone else, was Frank’s puppet, yet they worked together to get Alice to stay in the simulation. From randomly wanting kids, to cooking for her, and then making a big deal out of his promotion with the performance, he, as Frank’s puppet, tried everything in his power to keep Alice from leaving.
5. The Ending. Many saw the ending to be too vague and needed more, but if you think about it, most psychological thrillers are meant to be that way. They’re supposed to leave you hanging, putting the future up to your interpretation. As for Alice – who knows what could have happened? That’s the beauty of it. There are so many scenarios, so many factors that come into play, like, how did she escape Jack’s room and the bed she was restrained to? What happens with Jack now that he’s dead? Will the Victory Project come after her? All of these questions were probably in your head walking out of the theater. But rather than a plot hole, consider it your imagination. We know the theme of the film (which is dark, for the record), but perhaps it’s better that the movie ended so sharply.
Whenever you’re thinking about the confusion you felt while watching Don’t Worry Darling, just think about the fact that this movie is supposed to leave you curious, shocked, maybe even a bit shaken. The movie wasn’t perfect, but the message was real. So rather than dismissing your questions as confusion and plot holes, just let your imagination run wild.