Don't Worry Darling

 

Gillipedia Official Rating: Pretty sure a comma is needed in the title

Score: 5/10

          The score above might feel harsh. This isn’t a terrible movie. But it’s certainly also not great. It relies too heavily on shock factor moments and the reveal behind the plot, but the story has holes and the flow of the film is far too inconsistent. Since this is a spoiler-free review, we won’t talk heavily about the plot, but there’s plenty to discuss.

          Don’t Worry Darling had plenty of drama outside of filming. It’s the sophomoric film for director (and supporting actress) Olivia Wilde, and we have Florence Pugh, Harry Styles (yes, the guy who puts sugar on watermelons or something), and Chris Pine. A video went viral with Styles possibly spitting on Pine, and Styles’ relationship with Wilde appears to be quite rocky. In a strange way, it made the whole experience of watching the film more entertaining, but outside of that, none of the outside drama affects my scoring.

          Stars Pugh and Styles are lovers living in an idyllic community against what appears to be the backdrop of the 50s—think Marty McFly traveling to the past. While Pugh lovingly takes care of the house and day drinks with bff Wilde, their husbands, including Styles, go to work for the community company referred to as Project Victory. The leader is Pine, and he clearly comes across as charming and dominating; the community loves him, but it’s very apparent something else is happening.

          One of the best things Wilde captures as a director is the synchronicity of the daily activities (Pugh making coffee and breakfast and wiping windows, the husbands driving off to work). It’s hypnotizing to watch, and it only adds to that feeling of something off with the world around. From the very early scenes, I was getting huge The Truman Show vibes.

          The film is played as a psychological thriller as Pugh starts questioning everything, and nobody appears to take her seriously. And this is where the film falls flat most. If you watch the trailer for the movie, you’ll see quick moments like Pugh wrapping her face with plastic wrap, glass squeezing her against the wall while cleaning a hallway, crushing eggs without any yolk inside, etc. All of these moments are certainly engaging and slightly unnerving. But that’s also exactly what they are—moments. There’s never buildup to these actions—only occasional quick changes to obscure and somewhat abstract shots of stuff that are, again, in sync and played both forward and backward. And once the film reveals its revelation, it works but won’t blow you away. It fits well with the underlying narrative, but it won’t really shock anyone and leads to some plotholes.

          But the film is still entertaining! Florence Pugh can do no wrong, and if anyone is questioning Styles as an actor, don’t forget that Christopher Nolan gave him a substantial role in Dunkirk. Styles does overact sometimes, but he’s still fun. Pine is good, but he also does this small chuckle after going through all of his monologues. The best way to write out what his chuckle sounds like is: “heh heh.” And he does it way too much. The soundtrack is great, and the costumes are amazing.

          Don’t let the score get too much in your head. If you want a good time at the movies, you’ll probably enjoy Don’t Worry Darling. But it doesn’t succeed as much as it hoped. For an “R” rated film, it’s pretty tame in terms of disturbing content. I’ll defend only giving this a 5/10, but hey, I was still entertained at the end of the day.