When I heard there was going to be a movie with both Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, I was ecstatic. The drama surrounding this movie made it even more intriguing as we all waited apprehensive for September 23, to see what Olivia Wilde had cooked up this time. When the extremely low Rotten Tomatoes numbers began to come out, I was shocked. What could this movie have possibly done wrong to warrant such criticism? I committed myself to not reading any reviews until after I had seen the movie, to be able to experience it without any other preconceived notions.
Alice (played by Florence Pugh) really reminded me of Midsommar’s Dani, also played by Florence Pugh. Both women begin to spiral as they become more and more suspicious of the settings they inhabit. In “Don’t Worry Darling,” set in an idyllic world—where housewives wear pretty dresses and husbands go off to provide for their families every morning—something is wrong. The acting is great; I don’t think anyone could truly criticize that aspect of this movie. Pugh pulls off an amazing performance (like always), and Harry Styles does quite well too for a newbie actor. Everyone was expecting the worst from Harry from the few clips we got previous to the movie release, but he was not bad at all (in my unbiased opinion). Olivia Wilde actually casts herself as an important character in the movie, which is an interesting choice. Chris Pine and Gemma Chan play the hypnotizing leaders of the world of Victory, both doing amazing as always. The combination of all this talent in one movie was an absolutely perfect casting job.
Everything about the set was perfect, with a cul de sac resembling that of the A Wrinkle in Time movie and a perpetually blue sunny sky. The costume designer—Arianne Phillips—couldn’t have done a better job. The ladies of Don’t Worry Darling were all dressed beautifully in 1950s fashion, and Pugh’s half up half down hairstyle has already made its way into the trends of Fall 2022. The soundtrack, by John Powell, is powerful and beautiful. Everything comes together to make this movie extremely aesthetically pleasing.
The plot itself was great, especially the plot twist (which I won’t share, for fear of spoiling it for those who haven’t yet watched the movie). The feminist messaging and reference to Beddy Friedan’s theory of the unsatisfied housewife was especially clever. This movie kept me on my toes, and left everyone I was with extremely surprised; usually, plot twists are more predictable than this one. However, not everything about this movie was perfect.
The biggest issue was not the plot, or the acting, or the aesthetics —but the timing. The ending of Don’t Worry Darling is extremely rushed. The film takes more than an hour to actually get to the point, and when the climax is reached and the secret ending is revealed, there’s hardly any time to actually develop it. The ending is full of great concepts not done justice by being given ten minutes of screentime. There are also many overdone things; like the weird eye and dancer montages that repeat over and over again. The point is to show Alice spiraling—and figuring out that something is wrong—but that point could be illustrated in half the time that it was.
Does this movie really deserve all the hate it got? No, in my opinion it does not. It was enjoyable to watch, and left me with just the right amount of questions. People criticized it for having too many plot holes, but using even a little bit of critical thinking skills could remedy this “issue.” The movie does leave you with questions, but it’s almost like that’s the entire point (it’s a psychological thriller, that’s what they all do!). This is a movie I would even rewatch, which is high praise coming from me. There was definitely a lot more drama than necessary surrounding the production of this film, but that shouldn’t take away from the actual product—which was successful.