"Don't Worry Darling" - Film Review
Olivia Wilde’s sophomore outing as a director, Don’t Worry Darling, is the centerpoint of a tornado of swirling drama. All of it surrounding he-said, she-said gossip rumors that have nothing to do with the film itself. Yet many critics have taken the uproar of controversy as an excuse to write scathing takedowns of what is a generally fine movie. Don’t Worry Darling will not sweep the Oscars, it will not bring about a career change for boy-band-superstar Harry Styles, and it will not reinvent the psychological thriller genre. Don’t Worry Darling is decent, but that’s not nearly as much of a clickbait headline as many other outlets have chosen to run with.
Don’t Worry Darling is centered in the picturesque desert town of Victory. Only a few lucky couples get to live within the city limits on this one-road, pastel colored cul-de-sac. Visually, Victory is a stunning town. It’s the sort of 1950s Americana that could easily sell the promise of the American Dream, with perfectly manicured lawns, doting wives, and hard-working husbands.
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On this street live Jack (Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh), a young, madly-in-love married couple. Seemingly, their life together is perfect. Alice maintains a clean home, always puts dinner on the table, and adores her husband. Jack is the breadwinner and equal in his adoration for Alice. For a while, things are perfect, but things in Victory are never as nice as they seem. Alice’s friend and neighbor, Margaret (Kiki Layne), is convinced that there’s something the husbands are keeping from their wives, and it has to do with the man behind the town, Frank (Chris Pine). Inspired by Margaret, Alice begins to ask questions of her own and the facade of Victory begins to unravel.
The elephant in the room of Don’t Worry Darling is Styles’ performance. Aside from the drama, his pretty face is what’s putting butts in seats. Fans are arriving to screenings in Styles’ merchandise, as though this movie was an extension of his concert tour, anxiously waiting to see if his charm carries over to film.
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It does…sometimes. When the film begins and Alice and Jack are mind-numbingly in love with each other, Styles is a more-than-serviceable lead. The same boyish grin that lights up arenas pops off the screen, and the chemistry between Pugh and Styles is electric. Their initial scenes, where they cannot keep their hands off each other, are more than enough to sell the connection between the characters. The problem with Styles’ performance occurs as the script shifts to the more psychological aspects of the story.
Without giving away the film’s third-act twist, Don’t Worry Darling hinges on Styles’ Jack. While the audience is placed more firmly in Alice’s shoes because we only know the information she has, the film’s entire series of events are caused by Jack. Yet, when it’s time to peer into his psyche, the camera won’t look at him. Instead, Wilde chooses to focus on Alice and capture her reactions to what Jack is saying. Had the third act finale not placed the film firmly in Jack’s hands, this decision could have eked by unnoticed. Jack needed to be portrayed by an actor who could go toe-to-toe with Pugh (an incomparable force of nature in every role she performs) and that is not Styles. That’s not to say he phoned it in, it’s actually quite the opposite. It’s obvious that he’s putting great effort into this role, but the weight of the leading man seems to have been too much for him to bear. He is calculating his actions in an unnatural way. Styles could have gotten away with much more had he not shared most of his scenes with Pugh, who stole the whole movie from the first frame.
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Wilde’s debut, Booksmart, was so self-assured, and some of that confidence follows her into Don’t Worry Darling. The concept for the design of Victory and the homes within the town is marvelous. It’s visually tremendous and sweeps the audience up in the spectacle to hide its shortcomings. There are plot elements and gaps that are inexplicable and fall apart with the smallest amount of critical thinking. The entire story is held together in a wobbly fashion by the striking look of the film, Pugh’s performance, and the vintage feel of the surroundings. Without these, it would have fallen apart entirely.
Don’t Worry Darling wants to stun the audience with its audacity and daring visuals, but it exposed its hand during the trailers. All the shocking moments were spoiled before the film even began, and so it lost all sense of surprise. How can a movie be psychologically thrilling if the audience already knows what’s around the corner?
There are worse movies than Don’t Worry Darling, and there are certainly better ones too. Some thrillers are better able to blend science fiction and shocking twists with dazzling imagery, and while others manage to drop the ball more than Don’t Worry Darling. This film is a middle-of-the-road sophomore effort that proves Wilde’s strength of vision while laying the groundwork for her to improve.
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