Florence Pugh and Harry Styles have audiences talking about Don’t Worry Darling. photo by deadline.com
Fans have high expectations for one of the biggest movies of 2022, which is now streaming on HBO.
The psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling is considered one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The film, directed by Olivia Wilde, follows a stay-at-home wife as she finds out her life is more sinister than it seems to be. The movie started production in late 2020, ended filming in early 2021, and was released on September 23rd of this year to theaters around the world. Within the first day, it grossed a modest $9.4 million, but since then has accrued a box office total of $82.9 million worldwide.
Don’t Worry Darling follows a young couple in the 1950s who move to a private community in a desert in California. The main character, Alice, played by Florence Pugh, is a traditional 50s housewife who cleans the house, washes dishes, and cooks dinner for her husband, Jack. The community is prestigious and exclusive, as it only holds 72 members. The couples are admitted in exchange for their husbands’ labor on a classified project called “The Victory Project,” which neither the wives nor the audience know much about at first. As the movie goes on, Alice becomes more suspicious of why everyone lives in this community. None of the wives remember their past lives, and only know what they have been told by their husbands and the project’s leaders. She also begins to question the desert’s boundaries. She finds disturbing truths about her new life and eventually realizes she has been trapped and forcefully put into a cult-like society. The movie contained growing suspense and a plot twist that shocked everyone.
The movie’s plot is undoubtedly unique. However, a large part of why it was so popular was the cast, which included many accomplished actors and actresses such as Chris Pine (who played Frank), Gemma Chan (Shelley), Nick Kroll (Dean), Kiki Layne (Margaret), and Olivia Wilde (Bunny). One of the actresses that viewers were most excited about was Florence Pugh, who became very successful from her performances in Midsomer and Black Widow, and was nominated for an Oscar for her role in Little Women.
However, one of the most famous actors in this movie is Harry Styles, who is more well-known for his music rather than his acting. He rose to fame when he joined a boy band called OneDirection in 2010, which became one of the most successful boy bands ever. He later started a solo career in 2018, debuting with his single Sign of the Times, and became even more successful. Styles has since released three albums with 3.4 billion streams on Spotify and has been nominated for three Grammy awards (winning one for Best Pop Solo Performance in 2021). There is no doubt that he is a popular musician, but critics and fans questioned if Styles could act as well as he can sing, and whether he deserved the role of Jack, the male lead, in such a prestigious movie among so many accomplished actors.
Since its release, fans have admired the movie and its actors, although the professional reviews have been more negative. Overall, it is rated at 6.2 stars out of 10 by IMDb, and received a surprisingly low score of 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics found the movie confusing and sexist since it closely follows the standards for women in the 1950s. Ingrid Price, a junior at Thomas Jefferson, shared her opinion after watching. “I did find the movie confusing. There isn’t a clear explanation of the plot.” Like other viewers, Price said that if she watched the movie a second time, she might understand it better.
Despite the confusion, many viewers still enjoyed the film. Addison Smith, an 18-year-old alumna of TJ, also gave her personal opinion. “I really enjoyed it. I was not expecting to like it as some of the reviews for the movie were pretty negative, so I was shocked by how much I liked it.” Being a psychological thriller, the movie had several plot twists with new findings about Alice’s life, but it never dragged on or made Smith bored. “My favorite part of the movie was when I learned the truth of the whole thing and what was keeping me on edge because it was really surprising.”
Fans were also pleasantly surprised by Harry Styles’ performance in Don’t Worry Darling. “I thought Harry Styles’ performance was really good. I was concerned about the fact that he had little acting experience…but he did a surprisingly good job in this role,” Smith said. Styles had only appeared in one movie before Don’t Worry Darling, Dunkirk, in which he played a soldier with little screen time. As such, no one knew what his performance in this movie would look like. Price said he surprised everyone with his “emotional performance,” and fit in very well with the other actors who also did an excellent job. After seeing how he worked next to Florence Pugh, many watchers agreed he deserved this role in the end.
The movie likely would have received better reviews if there were fewer plot holes and confusing scenes. However, many moviegoers agreed the directing was well done, the acting was astonishing, and the set design was beautiful. Despite the poor professional reviews, Forbes magazine found that audiences were more gracious and gave the film a 79% rating. Only two months after its release, Don’t Worry Darling has gained a lot of attention and has already earned more at the box office than the production budget. Altogether, Don’t Worry Darling is a successful film.
