Don’t Worry Darling Movie Review: A Dedicated Florence Pugh and a Lacklustre Harry Styles Are Mangled Up in Olivia Wilde's Aimless Thriller (LatestLY Exclusive)

Don’t Worry Darling Movie Review: With a lead up that made the behind-the-scenes drama look more exciting than the film itself, Don’t Worry Darling has finally hit theatres, and there is quite a lot to worry about here. With director Olivia Wilde taking a huge leap from her coming-of-age-comedy Booksmart, comes her second feature as she switches genres to the psychological thriller side. Blonde Movie Review: Ana de Armas’ Hellish Turn as Marilyn Monroe Can’t Carry This Objectifying and Exploitive Psychodrama (LatestLY Exclusive).

When Alice (Florence Pugh), a young wife living with her husband Jack (Harry Styles) in the company town of Victory Project suspects something sinister is going on, she sets out on a journey that will see her question the reality she is living in. With a simple enough premise, Don’t Worry Darling still presents itself in a way that seems deep, but is unfortunately extremely shallow like a puddle; and quite occasionally dull.

Florence Pugh steps into the role of Alice extremely well as she starts exploring this wonderland, Alice is in the wonderland one could even say, and her questioning of that reality catches on very quick. Echoing some really traumatic shades from her turn in Midsommar, she is able to bring a sense of urgency which the plot lacks. Carrying the film alongside her too is Chris Pine’s Frank, an enigmatic persona who presents himself in the leadership position of the Victory Project. A fun antagonist that could have used more screentime, he still ends up being the highlights of Don’t Worry Darling.

There is also the soundtrack that brings about a great claustrophobic feeling. Using synchronised pants to evoke a sense of discomfort, John Powell goes absolutely ham and creates a memorable track that deserves major attention. When the glass is closing up on Alice or the distortions of reality are causing up for visions to appear with the soundtrack blaring in the background, it creates for an immersive experience and that’s where Olivia’s directing really shines. Sadly, that’s where the film triumphs due to the writing not living up to its technicalities.

Watch the Trailer:

The characters at times often feel like cardboard cutouts that are never really there. Aside from Olivia’s own Bunny who gets a decent amount to do, everyone else feels dull in a way due to the story not giving them much time. Harry Styles’ Jack feels extremely underutilised and his story and love for Alice pretty much fail at evoking any emotions. Not to mention, Styles himself feels limited with how less he is able to emote. When there are outbursts, it feels like the singer just walked out of a class that spoke about how “screaming is the only acting” and it just didn’t land that well.

The secret behind the victory project too is very easily predictable falling for some of the classic cliches of the genre. A project that sees the housewives stay back at home while the husbands go off to a secret location to work, a dream of a perfect life is promised in the wonderland. Alice starts noticing the idiosyncrasy of this project, and from there on out the conclusion is very much known. For all its depth, Don’t Worry Darling ends up feeling like a puddled illusion that looks very convincing. Not a victory, but a loss. Hocus Pocus 2 Movie Review: Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker’s Witches Return In a Goofy and Fun Legacy Sequel! (LatestLY Exclusive).

With the cinematography and sets evoking a great sense of the 1950s with a dystopic worldview, the plot ultimately ends up ailing to put out a logical conclusion to a tale that has a good concept to its core. It’s also aimless for much of its first two acts. With random sequence of events as Florence starts losing her mind, there never is a sense of direction. Things happen randomly and you’re sat there wondering why did Alice wrap her head with saran wrap. It just feels very confusing.

Yay!

Florence Pugh and Chris Pine

The Soundtrack

Nay!

Aimless

Feels Predictable

Final Thoughts

By the time Don’t Worry Darling kicked into its final gear, I was sitting there pretty much worrying, darling. Though Florence Pugh is in fantastic form, the journey ultimately ends up feeling lacklustre. Don’t Worry Darling could have definitely benefited with a more fleshed out script. The film is playing in theatres right now.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 30, 2022 04:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).