Following her hit teen comedy Booksmart, director and actor Olivia Wilde presents a glossy, high concept sci-fi thriller with Don’t Worry Darling.
The film follows 1950s housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) as she becomes increasingly suspicious of the small utopian community where she lives with her husband Jack (Harry Styles). Ruled over by the charismatic and cult-like leader Frank (Chris Pine) and his wife Shelley (Gemma Chan), the women are kept in the dark as to the project their husbands are working on all day, and are forbidden to ask any questions.
Wilde sets the scene beautifully, beginning with heady cocktail party games and a bouncy, period-specific soundtrack accompanied by a score that slowly becomes more menacing. Yet, the fantastic ensemble cast including Wilde, Kiki Layne and Nick Kroll are underused. There’s also an overwhelming sense that certain plot points involving supporting characters’ have untidily been hacked out and left on the cutting room floor. Chan’s narrative in particular, as a stern ballet teacher, is giving off strong Suspiria vibes, but her arc is never satisfactorily expanded on. The film spends too much time indulging in the polished aesthetic and costumes, and the screenplay by Kate Silberman hammers home its points, while also feeling underdeveloped.
Just as Alice starts to come apart at the seams so too does the film in its final act with an obvious reveal. The unsubtle visual motifs and nods to The Stepford Wives and The Truman Show rob the film of tension, yet Pugh’s performance is so thoroughly committed and involving that it holds your attention. Styles does his best to keep up with the exceptionally talented actress, and his performance isn’t bad, but opposite Pugh his inexperience is highlighted. Saying that however, Wilde’s ability to whip up an ambience of terror and paranoia serves the film well even if it’s frustratingly rote in the point that it’s making.
Don’t Worry Darling will be released in the UK on 23rd September 2022 by Warner Bros. Read more reviews here.
