Don’t Worry Darling is a paranoia inducing thriller examining the thin line between love & control in which Florence Pugh shines.
Rarely does a new voice in directing make such sizeable waves a Olivia Wilde did with 2019’s Booksmart, a generation-defining take on the classic high-school rebels coming-of-age tale. Garnering critical and audience praise, it has been clear since then that Wilde is here to stay when it comes to telling stories from behind the camera, which has made following the journey of Don’t Worry Darling from its inception so exciting: an exciting mix of Stepford Wives with Alice in Wonderland and The Matrix with a sprinkle of Westworld added on top. Not often do premises feel so bold, fresh and creative, but do we find wonderland when looking through the looking-glass or is the fantasy easily shattered?
We follow a 1950s couple, Alice and Jack, living in the utopian experimental community of Victory: where every day the husbands tirelessly work inside the mysterious Victory Project Headquarters while the wives get to relish in the beauty, luxury and debauchery of living in exchange for discretion and unquestioned commitment. But soon enough cracks in their idyllic existence begin to show, forcing Alice to begin question her marriage, life, and entire existence.
The Alice in Wonderland visuals and symbolism are not subtle, permeating the entire reality of a sun-drenched suburbia with perfect people living a seemingly perfect life: drowned I Manhattan’s day-round for the ladies who tirelessly take care of the house day in and day out, as they await for their husbands to return from their mysterious job at the top-secret Victory Project Headquarters, where the movie leaves lingering in the mystery of what it exactly is, much like Alice herself; who isn’t even the first to question if the glamorous company that allows for such luxurious living may be hiding disturbing secrets. She quickly goes down the rabbit hole, instilling a sense of paranoia in her that is conveyed to the audience by the sheer power of Florence Pugh’s force of nature performance.
Where the beautiful becomes twisted, the guaranteed comes into questions, and the superfluous frenzy of lavish eccentricities by the community around her begins to display sinister ulterior motives, to the point Alice feels stuck and alone and powerless in her life and marriage. The more the crawls and struggles to unmask the truth, the more her life begins to crumble, the more her friends and even herself begin to see her as a paranoid maniac.
Olivia Wilde’s ambitious direction tackles many strong themes effectively; mainly gender dynamics on a grand societal scope and on a more intimate level those of marriage, diving even deeper into themes on control & love, mostly seen through the marriage of Alice in Jack: happy, gleeful, and steamy. Their entire relationship is summarized as if they’re on the honeymoon phase: There’s a strong, almost uncontrollable physical attraction where Jack always feels in control; he goes to work, he comes home with the money while Alice cleans the house and makes dinner as she waits for her hubby.
Jack’s life happens in perfect orderly fashion, while Alice’s entire existence seems to be there to serve him, much like every other wife in the community; all whom start their day by kissing their husbands goodbye in their cars as they ride off in a straight line as a ladies waves goodbye creating a sinister, almost inhuman routine eerily reminiscent of the narrative throughline of Stepford Wives.
Alice’s unravelling of the mystery is fascinating and engaging, there’s a sense of uncertainty thanks to Wilde’s constant focus on the character perspective, the film feels so intimate thanks to her characterizations, it creates for a white-knuckled, thrilling experience from beginning to end. Alice’s powerlessness is felt by the audience, we feel trapped in this world right with her, giving away for some harrowing scenes that capture the impotence felt by so many women in controlled marriage where the power rests in only one person, even if the intentions are pure.
Wilde dives so deep into the mystery, unpeeling so many layers with unrelenting focus, that come time for the pay-off the film does not have time to continue to explore deeper, play all its chips in the mystery the resolution isn’t as rich as the build-up. It feels detached from the characterization and perspective that made the journey so compelling, character motivations, hidden meanings and even the strong symbolism present through the arc of Alice gets lost in translation and it never connects to the story’s hidden layers.
Most of the hidden motivations and answers are conveyed through the use of flashbacks, there’s no big confrontation or climatic moment, leaving the film to end on a whimper instead of a bang, where the answers we get don’t feel like they add to the mystery but rather take away from it. Up until its third act, Wilde is able to take ideas from tried & tested formulas and breathe new life into them, but the script never allows for the ideas to come together and create something new. So many rich themes, layered meanings and characters get lost because they come together for a generic, and somewhat derivative result.
The faulty script is elevated by the sure-handed direction of Olivia Wilde in Don’t Worry Darling: a paranoia inducing thriller examining the thin line between love & control, the cost of happiness & relationship dynamics. Florence Pugh’s masterful performance is the emotional anchor in one of the best shot films of 2022.
FINAL GRADE: B
NEXT: Bones and All (Venice Film Festival 2022 Review)
About Don’t Worry Darling
Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)—equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach—anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.
While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives—including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)—get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.
But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?
An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.
Don’t Worry Darling played at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
