[Editor’s Note: the following contains spoilers for “Don’t Worry Darling”]
Last weekend I finally saw Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling on the big screen. With all of the buzz (and endless drama) surrounding this film and being a die-hard Harry Styles fan, I had to see this film for myself. Going in, I was expecting to hate this film based on the critic reviews and the negative atmosphere supposedly fostered by Olivia Wilde on set between her, Harry Styles, and Florence Pugh. However, I was more than pleasantly surprised to find out there really was nothing to worry about darling, and I genuinely enjoyed this film for what it was— a modern Stepford Wives.
This film centers around Alice and her husband Jack living in the Victory Project, where everything is very reminiscent of the 50s. Alice starts off a happy wife to Jack but she comes to realize something is off with the Victory Project and its leader, Frank. Alice begins to spiral with nightmares and soon she must choose between continuing to live as the happy wife or facing reality, battling with her own husband and Frank.
The first thing about this film I was enamored by was the style and cinematography, all delicately purposeful. The 50s style in the Victory Project is the perfect foreshadowing and tell-tale sign about it. In the Victory Project, men trap women in their lives so they can have the perfect life in a simulation together. As the film ultimately reveals, Jack specifically was married to Alice but felt their marriage was falling apart, as she was working as a nurse around the clock and he was unemployed. It also is the perfect explanation for why Jack and the other men get roped into the project. Men were considered and treated superior in the 50s. In Jack’s, and likely all these men’s cases, they were feeling subordinate, needing to be the breadwinners and in charge, which the 50s mentality allows them. In addition, the cinematography adds to this sinister element of the film. As Alice begins to realize what actually occurred for her to be in the Victory Project and what it actually is, she gets visions of reality that appear like nightmares. The camera captures Alice’s reactions, often with a spinning camera or disorienting camera work, which allows the audience to actually feel Alice’s confusion as well.
Another outstanding element of this film was of course Florence Pugh herself. I knew Florence was going to do outstanding work in the film just based off of the hype around her two previous films, Midsommar and Black Widow. However with this film, she truly established her place in the thriller genre. She was able to show true, raw fear and confusion as Alice learns the truth about the Victory Project. She was also able to change her emotions in a span of seconds as she encounters a nightmare while out at a party, or while dancing with the other wives, going from “happy wife” to confusion. Though Harry Styles was the male lead, he was less of an integral part compared to Florence’s characters, he was also able to show a varying array of emotions in a quick span. When Alice tries to escape with Jack before she realizes he put her in the Victory Project, Jack calls men to take her away and goes from calm to crying. Though there were some awkward moments in Styles’ acting, overall I was relieved as a fan to find he was actually decent at acting and made me excited to see him in future projects (I mean who would not want more Harry Styles on the big screen).
Lastly, the side characters in this film shined as well, with big names such as Gemma Chan, Chris Pine, Kiki Layne, Asif Ali, Kate Berlent, and Ari’el Stachel. Every side character felt like an integral part of the film, adding to the creepy element of these women being taken and placed into this perfect simulation. However, I did feel that Kiki Layne and Ari’el Stachel’s characters specifically should have been in more scenes through this film. My one major complaint about this film (even though I adore it) is that there were so many unanswered questions at the end. Kiki Layne’s charcter, Margaret, and her husband played by Ari’el Stachel, are integral to making Alice begin to doubt the Victory Project. Margaret ends up having visions and ultimately ends up dying while her husband who tried to “get her under control” was taken out of the Victory Project. However, they are in barely any scenes while other wives had other scenes I felt was somewhat useless or could have been cut. It was confirmed that many of Kiki Layne and Ari’e’ Stachel’s scenes were cut from this film, which I felt was a missed opportunity. Having them in more scenes or more scenes of just them could have led to cutting out scenes that ultimately did not feel important. It would also have allowed for a better understanding of what truly happen to Margaret and her husband in reality and possibly even their story and how it ties to Alice’s.
Overall though, this film truly was freaky and made me scream at the screen for Alice to get out. Despite the ending being slightly predictable with Alice escaping, there were many plot twists I did not see coming and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. The experience was also furthered by everyone in this project truly giving their heart and soul into their acting throughout. Whether or not you’re a Harry Styles fan or dislike Olivia Wilde (understandable), this film still was interesting to watch and makes you think for a good hour after it finishes.