“Don’t Worry Darling” Review
It seems that the alleged drama that went down between Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde behind the scenes of their new film Don’t Worry Darling was more interesting than the movie they were making after all.
The thriller is director Olivia Wilde’s latest project, which stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Nick Kroll, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, among others including the director herself. Fans have been highly anticipating the film, eager to see if Styles had what it takes to act among the likes of the legends working on this project.
The film follows Alice, played by Pugh, as she traverses the 1950s dreamscape that she finds herself in alongside her husband Jack, played by Styles. The fictitious town of Victory, a facsimile of the nostalgic 1950s era in which the film takes place, sees women living a carefree life in which their day-to-day activities consisted exclusively of shopping, relaxing, tending to the home, cooking for dinner, dancing, and other leisurely activities.
Much to the dismay of Frank, the leader and mayoral figure of Victory played by Chris Pine, Alice finds herself more and more curious about the true motivations behind ‘The Victory Project’ - the ominous conglomerate that all the men of Victory work for while the women care for their homes.
The costume and scenic design were absolutely astounding, and the acting - specifically that of Florence Pugh - was spectacular.
Where the film was lacking came from the writing and direction, led by Katie Silberman and Olivia Wilde respectively.
The pacing seemed off as certain things that required far more detail and attention were left to the wayside in order to make way for 3 minutes of Harry Styles’ character stoically dancing around a stage for no discernible reason while a crowd cheered him on.
The film’s score was also nothing memorable.
One of the main talking points surrounding the film’s press was the fact that Styles would be presenting a new song in the film, and many were excited to hear the vocalist’s newest works.
Fans were then disappointed to find that the song, entitled ‘With You All the Time’ was nothing more than a 3-minute track of mumbling and humming - nothing to add to any playlists any time soon. It’s been reported that the song will be submitted for Oscar’s consideration, which was utterly shocking news considering the lackluster substance of the track.
It is challenging whether Don’t Worry Darling deserves 2/5, or a 3/5. While there are valid arguments for each, The score of 2/5 felt more appropriate.
The film’s attempts to capitalize on Styles’ fans by promoting his subpar acting as opposed to the genuine merits of the film, discounted the hard work of the crew and other cast members in the production and brought the film down.
When behind-the-scenes drama gets more publicity than the actual film itself, it’s no surprise that the film was, plot-wise, a flop. Box-office wise it’ll probably still recoup its budget and then some, but that doesn’t make it a good film by any stretch.
Rating: 2/5
Ethan Berman is a third-year majoring in film & television. To contact him, email ethanberman@psu.edu.
