Running time: 123 minutes
Starring: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan
Directed by: Olivia Wilde
The story: Alice and Jack live an idyllic life in the close knit community of Victory. Whilst the husbands go to work each day at the experimental company, the wives live the ideal housewife life enjoying all the perks of paradise. However when Alice starts to notice cracks in the seemingly perfect Victory, her dream life soon becomes a nightmare.
The verdict: There are arguably two types of audiences when it comes to watching a film. There are those who relish a film that leaves them with much to discuss and ponder, and then there are those who prefer to have everything wrapped up and explained. If you are in the latter type of audience then you may struggle with Don’t Worry Darling and if you are in the former type of audience then hello and welcome to Victory. Don’t Worry Darling is likely to leave you with a myriad of questions and your tolerance for the film very much depends on your tolerance for the unexplained.
Don’t Worry Darling is gorgeously designed. The film takes place in a fifties setup in the midst of the desert with houses built in perfect synchronicity. This is one of those films where everything appears bright and beautiful and yet darkness lurks beneath the sunny exterior.
Much has been made of certain performances in the film, namely that pop star Harry Styles isn’t very good and I have to say that I think that’s unfair. Florence Pugh takes centre stage here and like everything Pugh does, she’s really great. Next to Pugh, Styles does perhaps not quite match up but he’s certainly not as bad as many might have you believe. I also particularly enjoyed Chris Pine’s performance and overall I felt the film was well cast.
Don’t Worry Darling is a good mix of mystery and thriller and it builds up in an intriguing fashion where you really want to know what is going on. The reveal will likely be divisive and truth be told I’m still not sure what I thought about it. However, I cannot deny that I was fully engaged in the film throughout even in the moments I was less sure of. Don’t Worry Darling does feel a little like an extended episode of Black Mirror or The Twilight Zone, however its production and cinematography does differentiate it and it does feel cinematic in quality.
My main concern with this film was that I wasn’t sure what the concluding message was supposed to be. Wilde has talked about the film being feminist, however it has strong misogynistic elements and so I’m not sure if that quite fits. A lot of the ideas felt touched upon but not explored and if anything I wish the film had more depth.
That being said, I really enjoyed Don’t Worry Darling. After seeing it, it played on mind and I read up on theories about some of the events and themes. I thought it looked really great and it intrigued me. I think this film has been the victim of bad press and hate online and it’s simply not true. Go in with a clear mind and it might surprise you.
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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