Directed by:
Olivia WildeCinematography:
Matthew LibatiqueComposer:
John PowellCast:
Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Douglas Smith, KiKi Layne, Timothy Simons, Kate Berlant, Dita Von Teese, Asif Ali (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry 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 (Chris 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 (Gemma 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? (Warner Bros. US)
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Reviews (12)
As a mystery thriller one-shot from The Twilight Zone, totally fine. It's beautiful to look at, great craftsmanship, and I have a soft spot for Florence Pugh, she improves the rating of every film by at least one star. On the other hand, if their ambitions were higher, well we can’t speak of a success. The concept is fine and could have been the basis for a more substantial piece of filmmaking, but it would have needed from sharper edges and a more focused script (actually, it's a terribly perverse outcome, but Wilde and the writers failed to fully capitalize on its power). The handling of the reveal of the twist seems a bit shallow, and if you start digging into the individual scenes, you'll find that they may not even make much sense in the end – I really don’t understand what the plane wreck was doing there. 7/10
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Olivia Wilde has revealed an intriguing directorial talent with Don't Worry Darling. It's an original psychological thriller that keeps you guessing until the end, leaving you with a sense of revelation — or maybe not. That's up to you. Florence Pugh is fantastic once again, and Harry Styles proved he can act. Quite a few discoveries for just one film, if you ask me.
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An atmospheric relationship drama with interesting performances. Unfortunately, the script is as dodgy as the leading lady's memory. Spending an hour and a half portraying the world and having the interesting, supporting stuff taken away in a moment is the most frustrating part. The motifs of the relationship between men and women in contemporary society are stripped away, killed without proper context. The behaviour of some of the characters is downright baffling. Chris Pine and his departure was supposed to mean what? But Florence Pugh does a great job, and even the bumbling Harry Styles is a sight to behold. Olivia Wilde's brilliant direction saves much of the film, but the crumbling story at the ending trip her up. The visuals are great, though. A more assured script next time and it'll work out. John Powell's score is superb.
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(Spoiler alert!) It’s probaly impossible not to compare Don’t Worry Darling with The Stepford Wives and similar films in which an apparently perfect reality is not what it seems. Since the similarity to The Stepford Wives is very obvious, you get a relatively early idea of what the film is actually about, and expect perhaps to get some more fundamental and shocking twist at the end, which doesn't quite happen. Still, I must commend the good production and costume design evoking the 1950s, as well as the unmistakable and truly oppressive soundtrack. Three and a quarter stars!
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Don’t Worry Darling has been written about mostly in the context of major and minor on-set scandals lately, which is a bit of a shame that Olivia Wilde's new film doesn't deserve. She changed the genre dramatically after the fairly clever comedy drama Booksmart, and her new film certainly manages to impress. Matthew Libatique knows how to evoke the atmosphere of the 1950s as they may never have been, but as people want to see it through the filter of nostalgia. John Powell, on the other hand, has done one of his best soundtracks ever, and visually and musically there is nothing to fault the film. It manages to be mesmerising and then again a few seconds later very disturbing. Florence Pugh is excellent in the lead role, as is Chris Pine; in fact everyone here tries their best in front and behind the camera. It's just that they are being tripped up by the story, which, while not bad at all, unfortunately, as the runtime progresses, it becomes clear that Wilde doesn't have a new The Truman Show, Dark City, Inception or The Matrix in her hands, but just solid and functional material from which she can squeeze a technically brilliant film, but one that lacks emotion, surprise or any worthwhile message, especially at the end. The result is good, though exceptional, but I will certainly be happy if Olivia Wilde continues her directorial career.
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Gallery (31)
Photo © Warner Bros.
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