Don't Worry Darling - Review

 

In this age of social media, influencers, and constant feeds of information, sometimes it’s good to get some old-fashioned Hollywood drama from time to time. That’s absolutely what audiences have gotten with the increasingly bizarre and chaotic behind-the-scenes stories from the production of Olivia Wilde’s (“Booksmart”) second directorial film, “Don’t Worry Darling.” But can the film itself escape from the gossip and rumors to be, of all things, a good film?

Lead by Florence Pugh (“Little Women,” “Midsommar”), the film follows Alice, a housewife living in perfect harmony with her husband Jack, played by Harry Styles, in the town of Victory, California. Jack and the rest of the husbands in their cul-de-sac all leave each morning to go work on the Victory Project, a job completely unknown to their wives, lead by the enigmatic Frank, played by Chris Pine (“Hell or High Water,” “Wonder Woman”). But there’s trouble in paradise after Alice witnesses an accident involving one of her neighbors Margaret, played by KiKi Layne (“If Beale Street Could Talk,” “The Old Guard”), with disturbing visions soon following that lead her to question the nature of the town and the Victory Project.

Let it be known, for her second directorial feature, Wilde absolutely takes some big swings here. Not only is it a completely different genre than her first, but its also a considerably more complex film in multiple aspects. It’s a shame then that the biggest aspect of the film, the basic concept and script, fall apart so drastically. Written by Katie Silberman (“Booksmart,” “Set It Up”) and based on a story from Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries,” “The Silence”) and Carey Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries,” “The Silence”), there are plenty of teases and bits of tension that builds throughout the entire film.

It is remarkably effective in that way. Quite a few moments go unexplained for a good chunk of the runtime, leading to a sense of perpetually building anxiety as even the calm moments feel like they could be invaded at any time with bizarre visions and happenings. However, once things are explained, it feels like they’ve only become more complicated. Suffice it to say, the film’s big twist doesn’t work because it not only introduces far more plot holes than already existed, but it also doesn’t really land at all. There’s no big emotional reveal, instead leaving the viewer with a feeling of deflated realization, as if they simply picked it out of a hat amongst five other possibilities.

The dialogue is fine, mostly, but again gets lost chasing its own tail towards the end. It’s as if the filmmakers believe that the more they repeat things, the more obvious it will become. Instead, it just serves to dwindle the little goodwill that had existed up until that point. Not only that, but there are more than just plot holes; it feels as though there are at least five or six plot threads that are introduced or teased and just never resolved, ever. And that’s not even counting the other threads that are introduced moments before the film ends. When credits roll, it simply lacks the satisfaction that a good thriller should leave you with, regardless of the outcome being good or bad for the characters.

Even with the weak script, Pugh is clearly acting her ass off. She’s doing the best she can with what she’s been given, and she manages to make Alice at the very least interesting. She works some kind of magic during the film’s most dramatic sequences, turning otherwise rote and poor scripting into gold. The same goes for the criminally under-utilized Pine, who’s a delight every moment he’s on screen, which isn’t nearly enough given both his standing in the plot and the quality of his performance. Meanwhile the supporting cast varies from under-used to forgettable. Wilde herself is cast as Alice’s next door neighbor Bunny and she’s as bland as they come. Nick Kroll (“Sausage Party,” “The League”), feels like he’s putting all his energy into his handful of scenes and it shows, and Layne is doing a lot despite the disappointing lack of expansion on her character.

The same can absolutely not be said for Styles. With his only other major screen credit being his almost completely silent role in “Dunkirk”, he gives a performance here that suggests that silent films might be his best shot at being a movie star. He’s remarkably wooden and charmless, a surprising feat given the fact that he’s a world adored pop star. He gives off a dull, sanded down energy, as if his character could just be replaced with anyone else and nothing would change. Surrounded by the other husbands in the film like Pine, blink-and-you’ll-miss-him Kroll, Asif Ali (“WandaVision,” “The Mandalorian”), and Timothy Simons (“Veep,” “Looking for Alaska”), he feels like a black hole that sucks all the charm from the film; stunt casting meant to put more butts in seats that goes from being slightly annoying in the first half to actively harming the film’s quality in the second.

Like a film set in this era should, everything at least looks quite pretty. Shot by Matthew Libatique (“Black Swan,” “A Star is Born (2018)”), his camera work frames this eerily clean-cut neighborhood with some wonderful and artful angles that help to bring it all to life. The production design is also top notch, looking both effectively of the era while also maintain the sense that its all too clean and too perfect, helping to build the unease. Also helping is the score from John Powell (“How to Train Your Dragon,” “Solo: A Star Wars Story”), effectively creepy in ways that some will likely love and others will hate, but that nevertheless feels like nails on a chalkboard in the best way possible.

Many should likely be very worried, darling. Olivia Wilde’s much publicized second film has a lot to like and a lot that makes it crumble to pieces. As good as Pugh and Pine are, they can’t make up for the bomb of a performance that is Styles, as well as the script that almost sucks any enjoyment and intrigue from the picture. It might all look and sound pretty, but its never a good sign when your big twist makes your viewer stop thinking about the movie and instead think about the myriad of plot holes that have now arisen as a result. It might be bad, but it certainly isn’t boring. 2/5