Film Review: Don’t Worry Darling
Don’t Worry Darling is Olivia Wilde’s highly anticipated follow-up to her debut Booksmart, which was a modern classic that seemed to hit the jackpot with understanding the current generation.
Set in a 1950s Utopian desert town, ‘Victory’, Don’t Worry Darling follows the lives of housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) and her husband Jack (Harry Styles).
The pair are part of an idealistic secret society where men spend their days working on the ‘Victory Project’ in the middle of the desert, while their wives cook, scrub and lounge around the pool sipping on endless Martinis.
Alice’s rose-tinted perception of reality quickly turns dark as she questions everything around her.
The cinematography of the film (Mathew Liberty), is phenomenal and sets the tone of the catalogue perfect California life through the golden tinted colour palette and suspenseful camera angles.
Harry Styles’ performance, however, is disappointing as he lacks the experience needed to deliver such a complex role. On the flip-side, Florence Pugh’s performance is exceptional — proving she deserves an Oscar in her lifetime as an actress.
Other than Pugh’s performance and the beautiful cinematography, there is nothing new or revolutionary about this film. It feels like… a film. Wilde lacks the creativity and complexity needed to produce a new take on the classic modern sci-fi thriller with a Utopian society trope.
Don’t Worry Darling seems to follow more cliches with scene sequences rather than create fresh, interesting, glitch-like sequences. It feels like parody after a while.
If you are going to see this film with high expectations you may come out feeling dissatisfied — but the cinematic aspects of the film make it a fun popcorn visionary experience.
