Don’t Worry Darling
review by Bobby Blakey
Olivia Wilde has more than proved herself in front of the camera and in 2019 she showcased her directing skills in her brilliant film Booksmart. Now she is doing double duty and stepping behind the camera once again as well as starring in the film Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, and Chris Pine. Could this film offer up a town worth dreaming about or will it be more of a nightmare to live in?
Don’t Worry Darling follows Alice and Jack who are lucky to be living in Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. 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 what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in paradise?
I found the trailers to this film to be intriguing, but worried it might have given too much away. The film has been shrouded in controversy behind the scenes on various fronts, but didn’t seem to slow down the film’s release and I was ready to see what al the fuss was about. After finally getting to check it out I can say that I found the film to be a mixed back of pacing issues, but also an interesting and compelling story at its core.
It’s one of those kinds of stories that just something just seems off right away in this town and will immediately get you trying to figure out where it is all headed. The story plays out initially like a normal family film with a kind of 50-70s aesthetic which gives it a fun period vibe and
to me kind of made it creepy when things start going off the rails. It’s not a scary film by any means, but one that just offers up some more unsettling ideals and directions at times dealing with mental issues.
The whole cast is great with Florence Pugh carrying the heaviest load and bringing a wide range of emotions on full display. She is the centerpiece of the insanity and elevates it to the needed level for you to buy into it all. The rest of the cast all bring some varying styles and off beat moments that keep it interesting and moving forward before revealing all the twists and truth to it all.
Where is struggled for me was at some moments it kind of limped along trying to build up things that didn’t get the impact it hoped. None of it was out of place or unsuccessful, but it did take me out of the moment and lower the impact I think it might have had otherwise. I am sure this is more of a “me” thing and the assumption of something else going on than anything else, so likely it will connect different with others.
Decide for yourself and check out Don’t Worry Darling when it hits 4K, Blu-ray and DVD on November 29th from Warner Bros.