Don’t Worry Darling has been one of the most anticipated movie releases of the fall season. With its initial announcement for production being released in July of 2019, both Harry Styles and Florence Pugh fans were very excited to see them take on lead roles in the film.
The film, directed by Olivia Wilde, who also played a supporting role, ventured to create a psychological thriller that many may call captivating. While the film was both psychologically inclined and thrilling, I feel that the thrill aspect of the movie relied heavily on the abrupt nature of the soundtrack.
The soundtrack stayed true to the nature of the 1950s housewife appeal but was accompanied by grating female vocals that I assume intended to keep the viewers on edge. If a soundtrack is the main reason the audience is glued to their seat, I believe that says more about the writing than the integrity of the soundtrack.
The movie’s plot had much potential, but the lack of support from the writing did not allow the film to be translated in the way I believe Olivia Wilde intended. The film makes a nod to gender roles that were very apparent in the 1950’s. Florence Pugh’s character as well as the rest of the women in the film play the perfect houswives. Olivia Wilde’s direction makes it a point to highlight that the wives’ sole purpose is to support and care for their husbands.
With the way the writing was done, however, performances from Styles and the supporting characters make it difficult to see the film’s deeper meaning. In my opinion, the shallow script was not as profound as it could have been. A part of me wishes that the film would have dived deeper into the psyche of Styles’ character
Now let’s discuss the visuals of the film.
When it comes to psychological thrillers, visuals are an essential aspect. The film must make the audience believe that their mind is playing tricks on them.
In “Don’t Worry Darling,” I found the “shocking” visuals somewhat predictable. Throughout the movie, I was already expecting what the next scene would look like. To my dismay, I was right the majority of the time.
The film also included many cut scenes, which seemed to assist in moving the plot forward. The sheer amount of cut scenes alone made it very confusing at times. One blink, and suddenly, there is a different setting, with new characters, and nothing is familiar.
Since the film’s release, all anyone is talking about is the plot twist toward the movie’s end. I will admit that the curveball took me by complete surprise and, in my opinion, tied the film together very well. The shock factor was not fantastic enough to save it from poor ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (38%), but it did earn a few brownie points in my book.
3.5 out of 5 stars.
