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By now, almost everyone has heard of the drama surrounding the new film “Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. To summarize it without going into too much detail, there was an affair and unprofessional relationships, problematic casting choices, and a difficult director leading the project. Wilde found herself at the center of the drama, as she was the reason behind most of the issues mentioned. Although the drama and controversy could be discussed for hours, the question remains about whether or not the film is worth seeing.
When I went to see the movie on Friday night with a few friends, we had to find another movie theater due to our first choice filling up the entire auditorium. Although we pre-ordered our tickets, the theater we ended up going to was almost completely full before the movie started. As it was the first night that the film was showing in many areas, it was clear that tickets for “Don’t Worry Darling” would be difficult to grab. By now, it will most likely be much easier to buy tickets and find good seats.
Is the film worth seeing? It depends on your movie preferences. This film tries to be incredibly serious, yet some moments are unintentionally funny; my friend and I found ourselves laughing a little too much at certain parts of this film. I don’t think that was Wilde’s intention in the slightest, but because there was almost too much attention surrounding this film, most people were expecting it to be either amazing or terrible, no in between. I was in the latter half, but after seeing the movie, I think there were both effective and ineffective elements of the film.
Starting with the good, as many expected, Florence Pugh made the movie in terms of her powerful and effective acting. I don’t think anyone else’s acting in the film was necessarily stellar aside from Pugh, who once again continued her streak of phenomenal acting in every film she is in. Her character’s fear and anxiety about the patriarchal and controlling world in which she is living is clear in every scene. The audience can feel her dread, which grows throughout the film and up until the conclusion.
In continuing with this idea of dread, the horror/thriller elements during the film’s progression are also strongly effective. This experience may not be universal, but as a woman viewer, the fears in this film are realistic, especially when thinking about autonomy and agency in both fictional worlds and reality.
While trying to come up with decent and/or good elements of this film, my friend brought up the visuals. I’m personally in between the opinion of whether or not the visuals are that special. I think there are some really odd choices; but, on the other hand, I think the shot editing was effective in instilling the growth of dread and distrust. Visually, there was some jarring imagery, but at the same time it did not feel like anything necessarily new or never-before-seen in cinema.
The rest of the actors (besides Pugh) did not really stand out to me. Both Chris Pine and Harry Styles did not seem as terrifying as they could have been, especially when dealing with a narrative like “Don’t Worry Darling.” Some of the other actresses like Gemma Chan and KiKi Layne had the potential to be great, but they were not given nearly enough screen time. Olivia Wilde and Harry Styles specifically were really hard to view as characters in a movie without thinking about their celebrity statuses and the controversy surrounding this film. Despite the topic being prominent in many conversations, the drama before this movie premiered made it difficult to really immerse myself in the film.
Narrative-wise, this film could have been so much better. The first half was enjoyable, still flawed, but more enjoyable in comparison to the second half; the writers tried to explain way too much of the film’s mystery rather than letting fans interpret elements. After viewing the film, the same friend and I discussed how the mechanics and technology of the film should have been explained rather than the mystery. The creators of the film tried too hard to explain the parts of the movie which should have been interpreted. Instead, they left out valuable information of how things were happening, and left little explanation regarding the plausibility of the scenario. Despite it being a fictional film, there should at least be a bit of information provided regarding one of the main plot points, rather than trying to spoon feed us the themes and messaging of the movie. It felt like the audience was witnessing an eerily familiar story, but there was not anything new or fascinating. The film did not feel as empowering as it seemed to be promoted; it was more about the pain and challenges that women are subjected to everyday.
Did the drama around “Don’t Worry Darling” ultimately lead to an impressive and unique film? In my opinion, no. There were good elements and elements that did not work as well. Like with most films, I would recommend seeing it for yourself and forming your own opinion. “Don’t Worry Darling” was a film that became a legend due to surrounding controversy within the cast and crew, but in the drama’s wake left a story and characters that lacked much-needed nuance and development.
