STARRING: FLORENCE PUGH, HARRY STYLES, OLIVIA WILDE, GEMMA CHAN, CHRIS PINE
DIRECTED BY: OLIVIA WILDE
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 23, 2022
Do you remember that debate last year about whether or not Harry Styles spit on Chris Pine? Well, they were co-stars in this movie. As a highly anticipated film that thriller fans and One Directioners couldn’t wait for, Don’t Worry Darling was released on September 23, 2022. Produced and directed by Olivia Wilde, her directorial efforts, in my opinion, exceeded her previous works. These included Booksmart and Wake Up. In the span of 123 minutes, viewers will see Hollywood household names such as Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, and Chris Pine. New Line Cinema and Vertigo Entertainment produced this thriller while it was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film amasses $87.6 million with a budget of $35 million.
In the 1950s, Alice, played by Florence Pugh, and Jack, played by Harry Styles, reside in Victory, a model corporate town where the men engaged in a classified project are housed. The wives get to enjoy the splendor, luxury, and excess of their supposedly ideal paradise while the husbands go to work. Alice can’t help but wonder why she’s in Victory as holes in her perfect existence start to show, revealing glimpses of something evil taking place in the shadows.
I couldn’t help but form the connection between this film and The Stepford Wives, a 2004 thriller film starring Nicole Kidman and Matthew Broderick. Both are on the same page in regard to the idea and concept that both movies are trying to showcase. However, I do think that Don’t Worry Darling has its own spin to an ideal patriarchal society. These two films make you think. A lot, too. It’s the type of thriller that evokes a lot of questions in the viewer, but they will be answered at the very end. In the Stepford Wives, Joanna Eberhart, a gifted photographer, wife, and young mother, is the subject of the narrative. She believes that something about the Stepford ladies’ lifestyle is turning them from independent, bright women into submissive spouses who are primarily focused on homemaking. Joanna comes to terms with the shocking reality as her pals gradually change. Based off of the summary I provided of Don’t Worry Darling, do you see the correlation here?
Up and coming star Florence Pugh’s performance just proves why she is an up-and-coming actress. She perfectly expresses the confusion and horror her character is meant to convey. She is psychologically struggling throughout the film and you can feel it. Harry Style’s performance surprised me. I haven’t seen any of his previous works, but I thought he did a phenomenal job. Although I will say, I did not like his character.
After the constant recommendation of this film from my close friend, I decided to watch it this past week on Hulu. I was bewildered from start to finish. To put it simply, watching this movie is like trying to put a 1,000-piece puzzle together and you only start to connect some of the pieces at the very end. Olivia Wilde’s directorial contributions were great. Even up until the last 20 minutes, I still couldn’t grasp the answers to all of the questions forming in my head. Try and see if you can succeed. And if you can’t, don’t worry darling.
