No te preocupes cariño

In a utopian 1950s suburban community in the desert created for the employees of Project Victory as well as their family members, Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh) is a devoted housewife to her husband Jack (Harry Styles) who goes to work everyday at the clandestine Project Victory. When Alice follows a plane crash into the middle of the desert, she finds herself with questions that may reveal her dreamlike lifestyle is in actuality a nightmare.

Don't Worry Darling is the sophomore directorial effort of Olivia Wilde who'd previously scored a critical hit with her debut film Booksmart. The film is based on a script by brothers Carey and Shane Van Dyke that appeared on the 2019 Black List of best unproduced screenplays, and the project was chosen by Wilde as her next directing effort with Katie Silberman of Booksmart providing re-writes on the film which became the subject of a bidding war between several studios with New Line Cinema eventually winning. Produced in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was beset by some tensions on-set with Shia LaBeouf originally intended to be the lead alongside Pugh but was either fired or quit depending on who you listen to. Pugh also allegedly clashed with Olivia Wilde with the two allegedly getting into a shouting match. Upon release the film did okay at the box office for an adult skewing title in a market that had largely steered towards large scale event pics, but critical reception was considerably colder with praise given for performances, cinematography, and production design but criticism at the direction and screenplay. Don't Worry Darling Seemingly has all the right pieces in place for a strong psychological thriller, but in practice while it looks nice and is reasonably well acted it's also overly long with not much substance beneath its glossy surface.

To start off on a positive note, the movie from a visual standpoint is visually beautiful with the Victory Town well established with its vintage automobiles and immaculately designed homes with well-manicured lawns standing out amongst the desolate desert that surrounds this town in every direction. Additional visuals that come from the character's uncertainty are also well realized. Florence Pugh is well cast as our lead Alice despite the character not all that rich in depth so we never form much of a link with her, and KiKi Layne, Sydney Chandler, and Wilde herself do well as Alice's various social circle. But stealing every scene he's in is Chris Pine as Frank, the enigmatic and charismatic founder of the Victory Project, and thanks to Pine's charisma he creates a truly memorable antagonist with a solid "boo/hiss" quality that makes him easy to hate. The weak link in the acting however is in Harry Styles who despite looking like a leading man doesn't strike the nuances in this character all that well and because the script doesn't really have much depth to the character already.

The biggest issues with this movie are undeniably in Wilde's overlong direction and a screenplay that meanders on making the same point over and over again. Taking inspiration from the likes of The Prisoner, The Stepford Wives, Get Out, and various other sources, and we eventually get an all too clear picture of that as we head into the third act collapse where the proverbial "man behind the curtain" is revealed and if you remember the late 90s and early 2000s you'll definitely know where it goes. But the familiarity isn't the only thing that's wrong with the film as Wilde seems to have no sense of pacing or keeping audience investment up as the film often meanders with scenes that go on way too long and points repeated in scene after scene. One notable instance of Wilde's overlong direction is during Frank's introduction at a backyard barbecue and while the speech he gives is supposed to set him up as a charismatic and hyper-masculine figure, it keeps going well after it's done it's job establishing that and could've been cut significantly. The movie also features several scenes that are variations on the same point with several interchangeable dinner/dinner party scenes that are well staged but only serve the purpose of conveying what we already know. Then there's all the little things that don't make sense like the logistics of how the "reveal" actually works especially if the characters have friends, family and co-workers.

Don't Worry Darling has some good ideas and ambition behind it, but it never forms the individual parts that work into a satisfying cohesive whole. It's admittedly better than some films of this ilk I've seen like Paradise Hills, but I've also seen this done better too.

As usual, I went into this movie knowing nothing, without watching any trailers. And as usual, I had a great time as I slowly learned what the movie is about. This is such a weird and cool movie. It's creepy and haunting but not in a horror kind of way. The story is fully intriguing.

I love the way it was directed. I kept wondering who it was, thinking it would be a director I'm already familiar with. But I was surprised to find out it was Olivia Wilde. Not sure if this is her directorial debut but I think she did a great job.

Florence Pugh is ultra-talented. I already knew this, especially after Midsommar. But she again reinforces it with numerous scenes where she conveys her emotions so well that I can feel them with her. She's a rockstar.

There are a few parts where it feels slow. And there were times when I felt like I wanted more. But I really enjoyed what I was given and had an overall great time with this movie. (1 viewing, opening Friday Dolby Cinema 9/23/2022)

This film is full of ups and downs.

Florence Pugh puts on a hell of a performance and you can undoubtedly see that she is the best actor out of the bunch. This is the reason Harry Styles' performance is being criticised. His performance is decent however when acting with Florence Pugh the comparison and difference is evident.

The ending is where this film falls flat for me. The plot twist is ok however could have done with more development. Also 10-20 minutes or so at the end could have concluded the film a lot better. As a sequel is in doubt due to the controversy/drama on set, the film doesn't have a proper conclusion to its min story.

Good Cinematography Good Soundtrack Disappointing ending.

Jack and Alice move to the small town of Victory, a place where the men go to work on a project of national secrecy and importance, and the woman stay at home, cooking and cleaning, living a domestic life, not everything is as it seems.

I was seriously looking forward to this film, the trailers looked amazing, and the very presence of Florence Pugh and Harry Styles made it seem mouth wateringly good.

It's one of those films I'd say is ok, I was a little disappointed if I'm honest, I was hoping for a sharp thriller, and what I felt I was presented with, was a film that just didn't go far enough, they could have developed several threads, it felt like they held back.

I think pacing is one of the major issues, some of the scenes are so padded out, it could have been a lot sharper. It does at least end with some excitement, the pacing improves as it heads towards the conclusion. The car chase sequences are decent, and the revelation is pretty well done.

The best element, Florence Pugh, I would say she gives a dazzling performance, she really does deliver, Pine and Styles are good, though I'm not sure the film gets the best out of either.

The music and Cinematography cannot be questioned, it's a dazzling looking movie, so many incredible looking sequences, that moment at the club where Alice begins to catch on to what's happening is great, butt Jack's big party, is perhaps the film's best moment.

6/10.

The concept of the movie was good, but needed to be taken a bit further in my opinion with detail. A lot happens in the movie that basically requires the audience to accept without question.

Over explained movies are obviously no fun, but this one just left me annoyed because in two hours, I feel like they could have done a lot more.

Florence Pugh gives an amazing performance. If anyone has seen Midsommar, they would be aware that she knows how to give an emotional performance with or without supporting leads. She is the body and soul of this movie and it would be a complete disappointment without her.

Pugh made the movie interesting, but the writing and directing did not excel in the movie. The cinematography was wonderful and there was some great acting from some people and that's about it.