Don’t Worry Darling

The newest psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling crept into theaters on September 23rd of this year and was an uninspiring drag. Its stunning visual aesthetic cannot do much about the film’s slow build-up and nonsensical plotlines that resulted in hindering despite the astonishing performance by fast up-and-comer Florence Pugh, who carries the majority of the film.

The film was in no way devoid of ¨talent¨ and starred several big names like Harry Styles and Chris Pine. Nonetheless, the only person who could work reasonably with director Olivia Wilde’s and writer Katie Silberman’s lifeless script was Pugh.

Adding onto the already worrisome “ Don’t Worry Darling a conflict erupted between star Florence Pugh and director Olivia Wilde over inappropriate behavior on set by Wilde along with her absence from set and romance with co-star Harry Styles. The attention the film received for its controversy certainly did not help when reviews came piling in earning itself a rotten 33% on the Tomatometer with most critics and audience agreeing.

Don’t Worry Darling’s story itself follows Pugh as Alice, the wife of Jack played by Styles, in a stunning 1950s atmosphere that is enchanting to watch at the start of the film. The story is appropriately offbeat, gradually building up tension for about two-thirds of the movie, but at some point, the unease simply fades away. The story builds up the concept of what the husbands of this small town are doing when they strangely drive off every morning to their secret job as the wives stay home and provide the role of the ¨perfect¨ housewife. The film displays an old-fashioned American gender role Utopia and much of that is vital to the social statement of the story. As the plot develops the audience slowly learns what is going on, and it simply makes less and less sense. Much like the uneasiness of the film, the coherency of the plot starts to fade away into a very narrow-minded worldview.

What could have been an interesting psychological thriller about mind-controlled women set in a Truman Show plot that was dumbed down in the third act to an unsatisfying ending with unanswered questions. Even with strong performances from both Florence Pugh and Chris Pine nothing can save this visually beautiful but mind-numbing experience. In the end, waiting for a streaming release is not a bad idea because Don’t Worry Darling is certainly nothing to worry about earning itself a generous 6/10.