RABBIA MOLAI
managing editor
rabbia.molai@my.tccd.edu

Olivia Wilde’s attempt at making it into the big leagues of Hollywood directors doesn’t make the impact she hoped.

“Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychological thriller, was meant to depict the lives of a couple living in a “perfect society” when all of a sudden the wife begins to notice some startling inconsistencies. 

The main couple in the movie, Jack and Alice, are played by Harry Styles and Florence Pugh. Wilde had originally chosen Shia LeBeouf to play Jack. However, much like the rest of this film, LeBeouf’s departure from the project was surrounded in controversy. 

From Wilde being served divorce papers on stage at a press event to rumors about her getting into tiffs with Pugh on set, by the time the movie was released the buildup to see the product of such interesting circumstances was borderline overflowing. 

The visuals and costumes were beautifully done as well as the set. The whole production had a fitting ‘50s-type vibe that played well into the story. However, the beginning and buildup of the major plot twist seemed to be lacking. 

The first thought that came to mind as Pugh’s character Alice began to make her discoveries was, “What the hell is going on?” The direction of the first half of the film was incredibly choppy and led to it being a little hard to follow. 

The acting was actually quite well done on all accounts. With this being Styles’ third film on the big screen, there was a lot of interest to see how he would handle his character, and other than one cringy crying montage he did quite a phenomenal job. 

For Pugh, on the other hand, this was meant to be another stepping stone in an already well-established career, and as always she did an amazing job. Her portrayal of Alice and the conflicting emotions she felt as the story progressed was the shining moment of the film. 

The chemistry between Pugh and Styles was blazing hot, but even more so the comfort in simple scenes that they had with each other lent itself to a really beautiful on-screen connection. 

During the film’s second half, the direction seemed more consistent. The scenes seemed more put together as well as the storyline finally came to fruition. Although the twist at the end was quite predictable, the subtle nuances in the way it was discovered were actually pretty interesting. 

Although at first glance the project had an eerily similar feel to The Stepford Wives, the intensity in the actors’ performances and the interesting camera angles gave a pleasing performance.

Overall, the concept was interesting and although seen before was not unlikable to see. The main issue with this film was the fact that the first half could have been 30 minutes rather than an hour. Other than that, the way the ending was wrapped up and the performances of the actors gave the movie a good feeling. Well, good enough.