Don't Worry Darling

Don't Worry Darling

Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why.

  • Released: 2022-09-22
  • Runtime: 120 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thrillers
  • Stars: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde, KiKi Layne, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Douglas Smith, Kate Berlant, Ari'el Stachel, Asif Ali, Timothy Simons, Sydney Chandler, Alisha Heng, Wylie Quinn Anderson, Mariah Justice, Michelle Ells, Marcello Julian Reyes, Daniel Nishio, Venice Wong, Dita Von Teese, Monroe Cline, Kurt Scholler, Anna Tenney, Ali Starr Goebel, Natasha Luna, Trevor Hooper, Samantha Sookdeosingh, Ebru, Kaleigh Krause, Kate Ellie Fitzgerald, Mario White, Anthony Soto, Nataly Santiago, Natasha Kalimada, Charissa Kroeger, Alexandra Nicole Hulme, Brooke deRosa, Hal Rosenfeld, Connor Ryan
  • Director: Olivia Wilde
 Comments
  • sinscopefilms - 17 June 2024
    I actually loved it, but...
    Don't Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde's second motion picture, is visually stunning and captivating. The film employs a variety of film techniques, including shaky camera movements, medium close-ups, overhead shots, and symmetric shots. These, along with the vibrant colors and the beautiful black and white scenes, make the film both intimate and grand in scale. The use of blurred backgrounds in close-ups and the forward-moving camera shots further looks visually appealing.

    The music selection is impressive, featuring a mix of woodwind and 50-60s songs, and an original soundtrack that combines mystery with melancholic piano melodies and percussive elements to create a suspenseful and bizarre tone. Sound design choices, including crackling, motor, reverse sounds, triggered human voices and ambient sounds, are superb and enhance the film's thriller atmosphere.

    The locations, such as Greater Palm Springs and the deserted scenes, are visually striking. The costume design is aesthetically appealing and true to the era, with stylish costumes and chic hairstyles and the production design. The daylight scenes are warm, well-saturated, and nicely contrasted. However, the film's night scenes, in my opinion, are not well-lit, making some parts hard to see.

    Overall, the cast deliver strong performances, especially Harry Styles and Florence Pugh - they have great on-screen chemistry, which adds depth to their characters. Harry Styles' acting and his dance moves, and Florence Pugh's portrayal of a character with schizophrenic traits are particularly impactful.

    The editing is well-timed and includes interesting choices, like fast cuts that return to the original scene, which is unique to one actress. However, the pacing could be improved by shortening the film by 10-20 minutes.

    The writing is hit or miss, with some witty parts but overall mediocre execution. The third act's action scenes are exciting, though the film's ending lacks an epilogue, leaving it feeling incomplete.

    The direction is solid, creating a mysterious, suspenseful, and visually thought-provoking film. Olivia Wilde should definitely create more movies.

    Overall, Don't Worry Darling is visually stunning and a film I truly enjoyed, despite its flaws. It may be undervalued by the general audience, but it holds a special place in my collection of films with great potential but mediocre execution either visually or in terms of writing. Hence, a solid 7/10, decent 8/10.
  • daavsss - 10 May 2024
    Good movie...ruined.
    The women are great actors and carry this well. All of them. The real distraction and I presume this was the phase when the director and Styles were together - is pure nepotism. Styles' performance is awful he does not give of the air of an engineer one bit or believably give the idea he has anything in his head more than martinis and cunnilingus. Nothing wrong if that's the case but you supposed to believe he was some tech wizard as well.

    I love Styles music but he is NOT an actor. He is only in this due to the directors indulgence. That doesn't say much about the director.

    Movie was spoiled. To be fair the ending needed help too. Whoever contrived that is a believer in hallucinogenics and the final car chase scene is a spectacular fail. Build up and up and then eh? I wasted two hours....

    It really had so much promise. With a solid ending and a believable engineer it could have happened. Ok it doesn't deserve six stars knocking it down to four...
  • yehonatanresnick - 9 March 2024
    Thrillingly thrilled
    Honestly, this film to me was a refreshing thriller with some cool ideas and a cast that is able to create the correct atmosphere for this type of genre. This film centers on Alice (Florence Pugh) as her world slowly swirls around her, wreaking havoc and despair. Supposedly set in the 50s, you are immersed with a world of color and excitement, at least that's what it seems like.

    Along with Florence Pugh, the ensemble includes Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde (who also directed the film), Chris Pine, Nick Kroll and more, who fit like puzzle pieces to the plot. Chris Pine's performance in particular caught my attention, portraying a cult leader so to speak.

    I'm not sure original is the word I would use to describe this film. I feel like we've heard or seen this concept before. And yet it does touch some ground on our coexistence with technology and where it is headed, bringing this film to the sci-fi genre as well.

    I would give this a shot. For thriller goers like me, you'll undoubtedly have a blast watching this film. The performances and suspense carry the plot on their shoulders, with a run time of a little over two hours, this is a fun experience.
  • tonywho13 - 9 January 2023
    A Wasted Opportunity
    The premise for this movie was exciting but the execution was just so wrong. One of a small handful of films that deal with a virtual reality, and easily one of the worst. The only redeeming features of this film are the automobiles, the musical score, and Florence Pugh's incredible acting skills. Throw in Chris Pine's performance for an additional attempt at saving the film's boring plot and that gives it 3 stars, otherwise I would be generous at saying 2 stars for the film. I hope that Olivia Wilde recognizes that Florence Pugh carried this endeavor on her shoulders, and compensates her for the needed spinal adjustment that that enormous task entailed.
  • kelli2582 - 4 January 2023
    Good Movie, Don't Let Drama Ruin It
    Just watched the movie, I really enjoyed it and am bummed I skipped it because everyone said how horrible it was. Not bad at all. Good acting, beautiful cinematography, and a cool premise. A little predictable but still very good. It is def a story that has been told before but so are so many other films and it has its own twists and such. I do feel like it was missing something, just a little extra to make it spectacular but all in all it was still very good. Florence Pugh is awesome in everything she does and so gorgeous and Harry Styles is also gorgeous so there is that. Watch it, go into it with an open mind and leave the onset drama and offended viewers out of it.
  • Tmorgan112 - 31 December 2022
    Loved it !
    I like a variety of movies, but my favs are ones where I can't figure out where it's going. This movie intrigued me!! Some of the acting is over the top, and I wasn't CRAZY about the ending, but not enough to keep me from liking it in the end. If you keep up with where things are headed in the world, this will surely make you think. I guess some will "understand" more about the premise for the movie, so I'm wondering if those are the "low raters". (To explain this, it might give too much away and you need to watch without knowing too much). If you think too much about IF it could happen when watching movies, you may not enjoy. This was a different role for Pine, or at least of those I've seen, so I enjoyed his character.
  • dr_bravestone - 27 December 2022
    Disappointing ending undermines the rest
    Everyone is knocking Olivia Wilde because this is her directorial debut, but I think the problems of this film run much deeper. The script had two wonderful acts which successfully built tension and drew us in with a magnificent performance by Florence Pugh, but unfortunately, none of the puzzle pieces dropped throughout the film "come together." No director could have saved his film if what was put to screen was the entirety of the screenplay.

    The main twist of the film is telegraphed in the first ten minutes if you know a few specific details about American history, although there are at least a few smaller twists along the way. I actually thought the way that the script handled the initial info drop was really neat, and it made me feel smart for making the right deduction early on. Unfortunately, the whole thing just peters out in the final ten minutes. It's a shame, because if the film had just lived up to its promise a bit more, it would probably be received a lot more fondly.

    I hope Olivia Wilde has a long directorial career ahead of her, because that the creative direction of Don't Worry Darling was on point. It just needed a more ironclad foundation and a proper ending.
  • srgymrat33 - 22 December 2022
    This was seriously so good - cannot figure out why people don't like it
    So much here - I genuinely feel this is a movie most people will like - it's fast tempo , great visuals , big names and theme are something I feel like everyone can get behind . I admittedly like a lot of indie , foreign and slow burn type films and I also rate those highly but would not recommend those to just anyone -this one though- I feel like almost universally appealing .

    Secondly - Florence Pugh - what an absolute legend - she was fantastic in this role ( honestly in all her roles ) and I thought Harry styles was great as well - both really well played . Olivia Wilde also was great - once you know the end you can see how her character was played and why and recognize how well she did it . I was very impressed all around .

    I have seen many complaints that some things were not explained - one being the dance scene at the club when Jack gets promoted. Are you kidding ? This scene was AMAZING- it was showing the brain washing that society and that the patriarchy has on men - especially weak men . Frank is literally moving Jack around like a puppet - which is exactly what is happening to Jack in the real world after he loses his job ! . The "through the looking glass" concept was amazing and subtle , the fact men can be killed and women can't in the simulation is symbolic, Shelly's awakening at the end ? Take it how you want it - the movie is here to prove a point and share a message NOT be be a brilliant contributor to sci-fi as a whole .

    It keeps you in - start to finish - the twist is great but not so complicated that you need to research it after , the average person can understand the concept and appreciate what is happening . This is a discourse on SOCIETY and PATRIARCHY not about virtual reality - that's just the vessel it gets to us as the audience in .

    Watch it - enjoy it for what it is - appreciate the cinematography and the plot line that does not hurt your head - and try to learn something the writers and directors are showing you .
  • aboalhyjaa - 16 December 2022
    What
    What?

    This is it? This is the twist ive been waiting for almost a year now? The movie is basically a great filmed scenes with Florence Pugh with an outstanding cinematography and soundtracks and nothing else!

    Last 15 minutes were overall quick and bad. You see, in the first 100 minutes there was basically the story with some suspicious ideas of something weird happening, but then everything happens so fast you can't even process what just happened.

    Unfortunately, a movie with this staff and this idea could've been way more interesting than this.

    I will not say anything about the plot holes as this review is a spoiler free, but wow this movie left us hanging with more questions than answers and that made me kinda angry.
  • djdavidandersen - 10 December 2022
    Visually stunning familiar story with a modern twist
    I truly don't understand all the bad reviews. The characters were interesting, the acting was good, and the cinematography was absolutely brilliant. The mid century backdrop was flawless, and the story line kept me intrigued. Was it flawed at times? Yes. Was it very reminiscent of Stepford Wives? Absolutely! But I felt it was clever enough, to not be a complete rip off, as some would imply. I think the drama that surrounded the movie off screen brought people to it on the defense. Florence was fantastic, as well as Chris, Olivia and Harry. I think people are being far too critical. Relax, and enjoy a visually perfect movie that is almost great!