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Rating: 1 out of 5
I was not even close to wanting to watch Don’t Worry Darling. It didn’t appeal to me or look like a great film. I had zero interest in watching this film, BUT all the drama surrounding the movie made me interested. There was some major save that drama for your mama action in this film. You will have to read up on it because it was far more entertaining than this film. Pretty much there was major fighting between Wilde and LaBeouf and then major drama between Wilde and Pugh. Multiple sources reported on it, and you could feel the tension between Wilde and Pugh.
Let’s get into what this film is about. The film was directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Katie Silberman. The film revolves around Alice (Pugh) and her husband, Jack (Styles). The pair are happily married and live in a perfect little town. Jack works in a highly classified workplace in the middle of the desert. He doesn’t enclose any information as she is not allowed to ask about his work. Things seem perfect until Alice starts realizing strange and unusual behaviors. She begins having strange dreams while also seeing strange occurrences. Even when she screams or has a meltdown, life around the town seems to ignore what is happening. Not feeling like she is living the perfect life, curiosity strikes Alice hard, and soon she walks into forbidden areas.
The film was an absolute bore and rip-off of The Stepford Wives. You can choose the 1974 or 2004 version, but it is still a rip-off of that film and story. Alice’s world is turned upside down as she starts noticing things, and you must sit through it all only to not be impressed in the end. There was more drama outside the film than in the actual movie. I would’ve instead spent all my time watching and reading Buzzfeed articles on how Pugh and Wilde hated each other and had a toxic work environment than watching this film.
Maybe it was just me, but the film took many elements of other films, threw them into a blender, and made this film. The film has a female protagonist who believes and is losing her mind. Her husband and all the males in the town are controlling, making it seem like all the women need to do is sit around and look pretty. When shit becomes crazy, people try to claim that the woman is crazy. I have seen the story many times over and will see it many times over again. Wilde didn’t pull this film off correctly. She talked about female empowerment, but I really didn’t see any of it. The ending is meh as we learn that Jack literally kidnaps his wife and puts her in a program. It was strange because Jack, in the real world, was a freakin deadbeat but decided to use a test to get her to do things in an alternate reality. Maybe that is what I was thinking of with the blender. It was Stepford Wives, a bit of The Matrix, and other films.
I will say that cinematography was one of the biggest highlights of this film. The setting and views of the desert and mountains were spot-on and appealing to the eye. The film was stylish and gave the sense of a perfect life. What the film did well was provide a sense of the mental state of Alice and how things started off bright and then slowly became dimmer and dimmer.
Honestly, this film only survives after the superb performance by Florence Pugh. Pugh knows how to act and is quickly becoming one of my favorite actresses. Actually, she is one of my favorite actresses because I always enjoy watching her perform. No matter the film or role, she brings her A-game. The movie could be absolute trash, and she will do her best. I really appreciate that about Pugh. Pugh showed the struggle that went on inside Alice’s mind and also around her. Pugh propelled this film and needs to be commended.
Don’t Worry Darling is one of those films that can be easily skipped over. If it wasn’t for Pugh, this film would’ve been dead on arrival. It is a clear copy and paste of other movies and fails miserably with anything exciting. Once again, read the articles on all the drama surrounding the film. You would be far more entertained reading those than watching this film.
