Don’t Worry Darling fell victim to controversy and low ratings prior to its theatrical release. Having watched the psychological thriller on release day – I have some thoughts to share, so here’s an honest review.
The movie that feels “like a movie” (thank you Harry Styles for describing it so well) was released to the world on September 23. Of course, I had to run to the cinema on release day because I could not risk having social media spoil the movie for me.
If you are yet to watch Don’t Worry Darling I would not continue reading this article as there will be spoilers.
Don’t Worry Darling Review:
The premise of the movie is great in my opinion, it truly had the potential to be amazing. One of the things that hinder the greatness of the movie is the inclusion of pointless or weirdly comical scenes.
For instance, one scene in particular springs to mind. Frank (played by Chris Pine), the leader of Victory, the experimental town the movie is set in, is hosting a party. At this party we see Frank offer Jack (played by Harry Styles) a promotion. Alice (played by Florence Pugh) appears to be distressed by this, this comes after her pleading with Jack to leave the party as she is beginning to have doubts about the Victory Project.
The shots then transition between Alice having some sort of panic attack, crying in a room full of mirrors and Jack spinning around on stage in celebration. It made no sense whatsoever and the dancing was ridiculously hilarious.
The cinema audience erupted in laughter in a way which I had not seen before – not even when watching a comedy movie. The fact that it was Styles doing this dance made it all that much funnier. That is just one example of a few scenes in the movie where the events felt somewhat random.
Miss Flo Stole The Show
Above I expressed my surprise to hear laughter during the movie, even though I too was laughing. However, I did feel awful about it because 99% of the laughter occurred during Styles’ scenes.
I think it’s mainly because as an audience we struggled to detach the global pop star from the character of Jack. For someone who did not start out as an actor, I think he did an alright job.
His character’s emotions were believable for the most part. What I could not grasp however was his accent. It sounded British, sometimes American and occasionally Australian. Every time he appeared on screen I saw Harry and not Jack. On the other hand, when Florence appeared on screen I saw Alice. I felt every emotion she portrayed and really felt her character was real.
Without Florence Pugh, the movie would have been terrible. She is an incredible actress and she deserves all the credit in the world for her role in Don’t Worry Darling. Having seen Midsommar, I had no doubt that Pugh would be able to deliver in a psychological thriller – and deliver she did.
Many were worried the drama surrounding the movie would be more interesting than the movie itself. While I would love to see a documentary in the future about all the drama, I do still think the movie was interesting. Even though it was underwhelming compared to the controversy it caused.
But alas, I am not a movie expert in any way. So I am not qualified to say whether a film is actually good or not. However, as a casual movie viewer, Don’t Worry Darling is entertaining.
The Verdict
Much to my own surprise, and perhaps to yours too, I will be recommending friends to see Don’t Worry Darling. It is enjoyable and I was entertained throughout even though I may have muttered “What on earth?” a few times throughout the movie.
It’s worth watching the movie with friends so you can all discuss it afterwards and fill in any gaps in knowledge from the movie. I especially needed this as I left the cinema thinking there were hundreds of plot holes only for my friends to explain it to me and have me realise I was not being observant enough.
If anything, I will urge others to watch it for Pugh. Many will be going for Styles because of his pop stardom (and his good looks we all envy) but it is Pugh who steals the show.
Don’t Worry Darling had the potential to be amazing, but it isn’t horrible.