Don't Worry Darling is the second film directed by Olivia Wilde. The thriller follows the young, happy couple, Jack (Harry Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh). It is set in the 1950s, and follows this couple who live in a utopian town and community called Victory, which is run by Frank (Chris Pine). This is a town where the wives stay at home as housewives, cleaning, cooking, looking after their children (if they have any), and greeting their husbands once they come home from work. The husband's go off to work every day at a top-secret project called the Victory Project. This life looks seemingly perfect at first glance, however, Alice starts to see cracks in her 'perfect' life and starts to notice that there is actually something sinister taking place beneath the surface.
This film has been spoken about a lot in the press in the run up to its release, however, this was not due to the film itself but rather the drama and buzz that was created through rumours that were spread. To sum up the drama that took place there was the debate between whether Shia LaBeouf (who was supposed to play Harry Styles' character) quit or was fired, it is rumoured that Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde do not get along, Harry Styles and director Olivia Wilde are apparently dating; and finally at the Venice Film Festival there was 'spit gate' where people suggested that Harry Styles spat on Chris Pine (ridiculous I know!) This long list of drama meant that this film had a lot of people talking about it, however, people weren't actually talking about their excitement for the film itself. But I guess you could say any press is good press.
Starting off with what I liked about the film. Don't Worry Darling has a beautiful style, with stunning cinematography and shots of symmetry (which was a theme throughout), this really made me feel like I was trapped in this seemingly idyllic town along with Alice. Wilde used colour, costume and set design really well, creating a world for viewers to be a part of; the bright colours made us believe in the 'perfect' Victory Project along with Alice at the beginning of the film. However, the contrast of the dark and gloomy shots brought fear and the feeling of being trapped into this film. Florence Pugh is absolutely amazing in this film (as usual), she brings so much emotion and complexity to this character, and throws her all into this role. Pugh is the heart of this film, and audiences are able to sympathise with her, rooting for her to learn the truth of why they are really there.
I would say that many critics have been quite harsh on Harry Styles' performance as Jack, as I would say that he was not the disaster that many critics have called him online. Yes I may be biased in my review of his performance as I am a fan of his music (and have seen him live 3 times!) but I am going to try and be as unbiased as I can. This is Styles' first major role in a film (he previously appeared for a short amount of time in the 2017 film Dunkirk), and I think that he was good in the role. I cannot say his acting was great, or amazing as I would say that his character did not have levels, and it felt a bit flat compared to Pugh's complex portrayal of Alice. However, his acting did not let the film down and would not be what I would fault in this film, he gave a good performance for an inexperienced actor in a highly publicised film.
What I would fault in this film was the structure of the story as I would say there are some inconsistencies which could have been fixed. It had a very interesting plot, but the repetition at the beginning and middle of the film deflated the tension. It felt like the first act was dragged out and they did not have enough time for the last acts when the pace of the film had just started to speed up and audiences started to learn the truth of Victory. I think that if they had the big reveal a bit earlier it would have solved the problem of a lack of answers. However, I did enjoy this film and I did not get bored as throughout I was kept fascinated in finding out what exactly is taking place, why the women are made to be housewives, and what the men are actually doing when they go to work.