Don’t Worry Darling (2022)
Alice (played by Florence Pugh), lives a seemingly idyllic life with her husband, Jack (played by Harry Styles), in a spotless community dubbed The Victory Project stranded in the middle of a desert. The inhabitants go about their perfectly synchronised routines every day. The wives kiss their husbands goodbye every morning. The men head off to work in an area out of bounds to their female counterparts. The wives stay where they are told to and fill their days with chores, dance lessons and gossip until their husbands return just in time for dinner.
The film has a talented cast and crew to work with, specifically in its lead Florence Pugh, who once again proves that she is one of the most reliable and powerful young working actresses of this generation. Chris Pine, who plays the head of the operation, was able to balance the repugnance and charm that befit a cult leader. Even Styles, who has been brutally criticised online after clips of the performance leaked, was able to play a serviceable role, despite his struggles with the more poignant moments. Coming off of the positive buzz of Booksmart, Wilde’s intention with the film this time around is as clear as ever. But even the collective effort of all players involved couldn’t save the film from its simplistic philosophy and flimsy characters.
Don’t Worry Darling demands the audience to patiently watch the exposition unfold without placing the trust in them to discover the horrors with the protagonist. The humdrum of the didactic narratives is simply tedious to any discernible audience who is already acquainted with the trope of suburban dystopia — the immaculate picture of domestic bliss hiding a twisted reality. The rewards for their patience are hardly enough to justify the over-elaborate set-up. Without the backbone of a substantial plot and an enthralling journey of suspense, the twist at the end and the abrupt demise of the antagonist evokes laughs rather than satisfaction.
What made Don’t Worry Darling lacklustre is certainly not because of a mediocrity or the abhorrence that one would associate with a film currently labelled “rotten”, but it is more so that despite the intellectual posturing, it simply lacks bite and doesn’t have anything impactful to say. It’s obvious that the twist of Don’t Worry Darling is an attempt to address the very real gender issues vexing the current generation. In fact, Wilde herself openly admitted that the professor turned incel hero Jordan Peterson was the inspiration behind the head of the Victory project. Yet, the film doesn’t have anything deeper or new to add into the sphere of conversation that is already happening across different mediums. No new questions were posed and no new challenges were raised. No matter which point of the spectrum you sit on, you won’t be able to produce a response that you haven’t already had about the subject matter.
That is not to discredit the talent of Olivia Wilde and her potential for greatness as a director. In fact, the film is far from the failure many are claiming it to be. But as an audience, we like to be challenged and want to be a part of the cinematic experience as more than mere passive spectators, and one should hope that Wilde can learn the right lessons from the criticisms and learn to demand more from her audience.
