Don’t Worry Darling-2022
Director Olivia Wilde
Starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine
Scott’s Review #1,368
Reviewed June 9, 2023
Grade: B+
Don’t Worry Darling (2022) plays like a modern version of The Stepford Wives (1975) meets Pleasantville (1998) but with a supernatural spin and lots of much-needed modern diversity.
Not set in present times, the characters all feel very 2022 but are transplanted to a different period that only enhances an already unsettling feeling.
The sophisticated 1950s set design and art direction are a significant score, as well as the mysterious happenings that continue to shroud the central character and her surroundings.
The film never lags and, in fact, fascinates throughout. There is a continuous feeling of uncertainty, dread, and controlled chaos that assuredly will explode in the finale.
I’m not sure I quite got the conclusion right away until I read through the summary, and something about an alternate universe and different lives outside of the primary setting was revealed. Regardless, it felt unsatisfying, especially compared to the rest of the events.
But, small potatoes, I still enjoyed Don’t Worry Darling immensely.
The premise is thrilling from the start. A 1950s housewife named Alice, played by emerging star Florence Pugh, is living with her husband in a utopian experimental community. They mingle with neighbors, host lavish parties with delicious food and drink, and enjoy each gorgeous sunny day.
Daily, the men dutifully drive off to work in the distinguished Victory Headquarters while the wives cheerfully clean and scrub the windows and prepare a savory dinner, counting the minutes until their husbands return for a romp in the hay.
It all sounds too good to be true.
When a close friend Margaret (KiKi Layne) experiences a psychotic episode witnessed by Alice, she begins to worry that her husband’s glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets and that everything may not be as perfect as it seems.
I am becoming a big fan of Florence Pugh, who effortlessly carries the film. Impressive in both Midsommar and as Amy in Little Women, both in 2019, she possesses a specific ‘it’ factor showcased well in Don’t Worry Darling.
Pugh has many scenes with no dialogue. Ranging from a soak in the bathtub, a bizarre episode where she wraps her head in Saran Wrap, and witnessing her friend’s death, she does so much without speaking.
Successfully, the audience is taken along for the ride. We know as much as Alice does, which is nothing. It’s not that Alice hates her life; hell, she’s got it pretty good. A scrumptious roast and carrots alongside hot sex on her dining room table, the girl could do much worse.
But she knows something is off and is determined to find out what it is. Why are the women forbidden from seeing the Victory Headquarters? Why does a plane crash that only Alice sees? Why does Frank, the alpha male leader of Victory, wonderfully played by Chris Pine, keep eyeing Alice?
Impressive is the direction by Olivia Wilde, who also appears as Alice’s friend, Bunny. Along with the screenwriter, Katie Silberman, the duo crafts a piece of work with a feminist perspective turned topsy-turvy, and it’s a good angle.
Not to harp on the ending again, but the message of female empowerment, which I think is the intention of Wilde and Silberman, is unclear. A bolder message and a more finite ending would have helped cement the deal.
Still, in Wilde’s only second film, the first being the vastly different Booksmart (2019), she should only be proud of herself and the product she created.
If one is seeking an emboldened psychological thriller with twists and turns to savor, Don’t Worry Darling (2022) is a fine pick. It creeps along with appropriate plot points and a stylized visual canvas.
