Director
Olivia Wilde

Starring
Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine and Olivia Wilde

With all the publicity surrounding Olivia Wilde’s most recent directorial effort, it’s easy to forget that this was (for a time) highly anticipated and seen by some as a possible awards contender. Sadly the only thing that people seem to know about this film is the spawning relationship between Wilde and fellow cast member Harry Styles, as well as the fallout between the talented director and the films’ star, Florence Pugh. So weeding through the mountains of negative press, the question still remains, is the film by its own merits any good? For me, it’s a definite yes…however, it had all the potential to be GREAT and certainly fell short of that.

The premise is an interesting one, seemingly set in a 1950’s utopic community where all the men head off to their secret 9 to 5 jobs at the Victory Headquarters, whilst the women clean the house, prepare the meals and lounge around their resort style pool with their cocktails in the afternoon sun. A world where it never rains, the men are the head of the household, and everyone worships Victory head honcho Frank (Chris Pine) for creating this ‘idealistic paradise’. No one seems to question why areas of the community are off limits to non-Victory employees, why neighbor Peg (Kate Berlant) has always been pregnant or why no one ever seems to visit or leave. That is until Alice (Florence Pugh) starts to have her suspicions that everything in her perfect little world isn’t quite what it seems. As her paranoia grows and she starts having flashes of alternate memories, is she going insane, or being gaslit by everyone around her?

The performances throughout the film are generally solid, but Pugh shines above the rest. Spring boarding from a similar effort in Midsommar she manages to keep you engaged throughout the whole journey. Chris Pine plays the cult-like leader role to a disarmingly perfect level, however the casting of Harry Styles as Alice’s husband Jack, is perhaps one of the less successful choices. It’s not that his performance is bad by any means, but as the story unfolds, it’s obvious that the original choice for that role (Shia LaBeouf) would have been a much more appropriate move. Sadly his falling out with Florence Pugh and other cast members over his acting methods kyboshed that, but there still may have been better options than Styles.

The cinematography and stylistic choices of Don’t Worry Darling are perfection, this is a beautifully shot film. The commentary on alt-right, incel ideologies is interesting, and ultimately could have been better explored throughout the feature. There are thrills here, but the one criticism is that perhaps it took a little too long to get to them, the pacing definitely was a bit of an issue. But as an overall production, it was solid. I for one am hoping that the drama surrounding the shoot won’t put an early and unfair end to Wilde’s promising career behind the camera. This might not hit as well as Booksmart, but it’s a commendable effort none the less.

Don’t Worry Darling is in cinemas now.