So it's old news by this point that the film Don't Worry, Darling directed by Olivia Wilde, has been something of a joke for a while now. In fact, people were making fun of this film months before its September release. Gossip about the nightmare production and publicity around this film already seemed to make it a pariah before anyone had even seen it. Between lead actors refusing to go to the premiere - to that photo of Chris Pine dissociating during a press conference - people have been talking about this movie, and not in a good way. But that leads some people to wonder: is the movie itself any good?
I first saw the trailer for Don't Worry, Darling back in August while in the cinema to watch Jordan Peele's latest masterwork (seriously, if you haven't watched "Nope" yet - go and do it) and, while I was intrigued, it wasn't super high on my radar. Mainly I ended up seeing it yesterday because my mom wanted to see it. I was a big fan of Florence Pugh since watching her in Midsomar and had no problem watching her again. Much like in Midsomar - she's very good when she's put in high stress, surreal situations where a bunch of shitty guys are trying to gaslight her. Weird bit of typecasting - but go off, I guess.
Darling is, in a lot of ways, very much what I was expecting - and at the same time, had another layer or two that surprised me. Much like is shown in the trailer, the film shows classic 50's housewife, Alice (played wonderfully by Pugh) living an idealized life in a private community known as Victory, run by the mysterious and charismatic businessman, Frank (played by Chris Pine not ripping his shirt off in front of a waterfall). When she, her husband Jack (played by Harry Styles, whose acting was much better than I was led to expect) attend a party at Frank's house with the rest of their community, all seems well until one of the other wives, Margaret (Kiki Layne) calls out demanding to know "Why are we here?" looking absolutely haunted. Later, Alice sees Margaret confronted by her husband as he's trying to force some kind of pill on her while she refuses, staring straight ahead at Alice.
Part of the controversy of the film was Kiki Layne stating that most of her scenes had been cut from the movie. I personally find that to be a huge disservice - not only to her as an actor - but to the film itself. Her performance, though short, is what kicks the plot into gear and starts to make Alice question everything around her, showing the first sign that all is not well in paradise.
Many of the mysteries and bizarre scenes are shown in the trailer: Alice wrapping plastic wrap around her face, cleaning the windows only to have the wall behind her slowly move in and crush her, her crumpling an egg to find that it's nothing more than an empty shell - but while these are certainly some of the most memorable imagery in the film, they give nothing away and only serve to make the viewer more eager to know just what is going on.
More than that, the view is led further and further down this idealized rabbit hole with the sharp, disorienting visuals (constant flashback of black and white swimmers, a close-up of an eye dilating and close up shots of pouring coffee, cutting toast and frying eggs to show the repetition of each day - to name a few) and an utterly haunting soundtrack, composed of the sounds of gasping and hyperventilating that keeps the audience constantly on edge.
Overall, between the visuals, soundtrack, costumes (the 50's were a cesspool of an era but they knew how to look good while being scum) and great performances from Pugh and Pine (Styles was alright too - bastard had a couple moments of being absolutely charming and I hated his character even more for it) this movie is nowhere near the garbage fire many clickbait articles would have you believe. Is it the greatest thing ever made? No. But if what you're looking for is a psychological thriller that looks and sounds great, and could be compared to a moderized Stepford Wives, you could do much worse. Give it a watch for yourself once it comes around on streaming.
Acting: ****/ 5
Like I said, Florence Pugh is a powerhouse in this type of role, though I do have to wonder how she keeps finding herself in these kinds of situations
Visuals: ****/5
Surreal, confusing and occasionally breathtaking (though I'm taking off points for that close-up of the raw steak.) This movie made me feel like my brain was in backwards
Score: ***/5
This one reminded me of the soundtrack to Gone Girl - a lot of low tones and reverberating echoes - plus the aforementioned gasping/breathing melodically into the microphone. It's incredibly effective, but I could also see how it could put some people off after a while.
Story: **
Without giving much away, I will say this is where some of the movie starts to slip. While I found the ending twist unique and interesting (and there's a lot of implications that I'd love to go into in a more in-depth look) I also feel like some parts of it could have been elaborated on more or tightened up just a bit. All in all though - it said what it wanted to and got its message across
Overall rating: High ** 1/2 to low *** out of five stars.
As stated above - it's not the most groundbreaking thing I've ever seen, but what it does - it does well.
