Review: Don’t Worry Darling
Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling advertised itself, with the offscreen drama overshadowing discussions of the film’s content prior to its release. To summarise the excitement (deep breath), Wilde and Styles began a relationship during production, the former was served custody papers onstage at CinemaCon, Shia LaBoeuf confirmed his exit from the film amidst Wilde’s claims that she fired him a mere three months before he was sued by ex-partner FKA twigs for abuse, and Styles appeared to spit on Chris Pine at Venice Film Festival after he and Wilde avoided eye contact and couples’ photographs all night. Phew.
While much of Don’t Worry Darling’s mainstream appeal stems from the tumultuous production and Styles’ immense pop star fame, it becomes instantly clear that the film belongs to Florence Pugh as Alice. As expected from their varying levels of experience, Pugh acts circles around Styles whose few dramatic speeches evoke A-Level drama class when compared with Pugh’s Academy Award-nominated prowess. Pine’s almost waxy appearance lends itself to the over-manicured suburban setting, his gaze flickering between benevolent saviour and omnipresent dictator, as Alice becomes more uneasy with his vague ‘Victory Project’ and the plot steadily unfurls.
Although initially presented as idyllic in the film, the modern audience immediately understands the 1950s’ ‘American Dream’ as problematic. Alice spends a large portion of her days repeating the same domestic tasks and waiting by the door for her husband to return from work so she can greet him with a drink and dinner. None of the women are allowed to know what their husbands do for work or why they are living in, let’s face it, a cult in the middle of the desert. A procession of nauseating spinning shots towards the beginning of the film cement the idea that this is not the comfortable suburbia its creators want to project.
The film later takes an unexpected turn that toes the line between disturbing and hilarious, ultimately leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. After a confusing few lines towards the end of the film and a perplexing accent in the trailer for My Policeman, one question I will continue asking is why Styles would ever be asked to act with any accent other than his own.
Don’t Worry Darling’s often highly stylised approach lends itself to the big screen, as does Pugh’s performance which leaves nothing to be desired amongst mostly competent acting from her peers. Although afflicted with slightly too frequent black and white montages used as misguided horror moments, the dramatic elements of the film are largely effective and engaging.
Featured Image Credit: @watertowermusic and @dontworrydarlin Twitter
