Words By Caitlin Evans
IÔÇÖm Worried, Darling
*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*
The drama surrounding Olivia WildeÔÇÖs latest release, DonÔÇÖt Worry, Darling, has been unavoidable recently. It all began with the controversy over the casting decisions (Harry Styles, IÔÇÖm looking at you), and has since spiralled into a seemingly never-ending stream of negative claims, so-called arguments, and drama. This hasnÔÇÖt overshadowed the film itself, however, and it has received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative. HereÔÇÖs my take:
DonÔÇÖt Worry, Darling is a psychological thriller which shows the lives of couple Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) living in an idealized, 1950ÔÇÖs-esque community called ÔÇÿVictoryÔÇÖ. We later discover that this so-called community is an artificially created, VR-type town and is part of an experiment known as the ÔÇÿVictory ProjectÔÇÖ, the work of project leader, Frank (Chris Pine). Every day, the men of Victory go to work on this top-secret project whilst the women stay at home and play the role of housewives, spending time gossiping and shopping with the other wives of the town. The wives are encouraged not to ask questions about their husbandÔÇÖs jobs and told not to leave the perimeter of the area which is deemed ÔÇÿsafeÔÇÖ for them. It is later revealed that this is to prevent them from finding out the truth about the Victory Project, which is that this town, and their lives here, are completely fabricated.
Overall, I thought the concept was clever, slightly disturbing at times, and for the most part well-executed, with some incredible performances (thank you, Florence Pugh). There are also some interesting themes to unpack. The obvious message that came across is the desire for men to control women. We know that the Victory Project is the work of a man called Frank, with the purpose of giving other men the opportunity to join him and help build his community. This life is chosen by the men of the community, whilst the women, at least in AliceÔÇÖs case, have no say. This town of Victory seems to be FrankÔÇÖs idea of a ÔÇÿperfectÔÇÖ world, which is essentially a world in which we are back in the 1950ÔÇÖs – when the men would go to work and the women are stay-at-home wives/mothers/housewives.
The turning point in the film is when Alice starts to realise something sinister is lying beneath the surface of the Victory Project. At this point, we see a flashback to her and Jack as a couple in the ÔÇÿreal worldÔÇÖ, where Alice is a doctor, obviously successful and accomplished. It is in the following scenes that the truth behind the Victory Project is revealed, as we see Jack choose to enter this community. One of the lines that really stuck with me is when Frank asks Jack who he chooses to be his wife, to which he says Alice, and Frank follows this by asking him if he has a previously existing relationship with this woman. Of course, he does, but this suggests that some of the men living in the Victory community could have chosen any woman, relationship or not, to be their wife. Frank is giving men the power to take away the life of a woman simply because they want to, and they can do this without any input from the woman.
Alice is not the only character who starts to see through this lie, as we see Margaret (Kiki Layne) repeatedly show signs that she knows something more, but she is shut down every time. ThereÔÇÖs even one scene where we see her Victory husband, Ted (AriÔÇÖel Stachel) trying to get her to take some medication, presumably to make her forget about what sheÔÇÖs remembering and keep her in this dream-world. The whole narrative around the character of Margaret is very reflective, again, of the idea of women being controlled. She is made out to be insane, unhinged, because she sees through the menÔÇÖs lies.
I feel like I canÔÇÖt discuss this film without at least mentioning some of the controversy. They say life imitates art, and this may be the case for real-life couple Layne and Stachel. It was revealed after the release of the film that, like Margaret was silenced in the film, many of their scenes had been cut. She posted on her Instagram saying, ÔÇ£They cut us from most of the movie, but we thriving in real lifeÔÇØ. Stachel has also been outspoken about it, posting a TikTok showing tweets calling him a ÔÇÿglorified extraÔÇÖ in the film. On the subject of co-stars, itÔÇÖs claimed that Wilde and Pugh had many disagreements during the filming process, in part due to Wilde and Styles supposed relationship. ItÔÇÖs said Pugh was unhappy to see them ÔÇÿall over each otherÔÇÖ and constantly disappearing from the set. Although not known to be 100% true, this is made more believable by the fact that Pugh rarely appeared in any press for the film. Whether or not her and Wilde are the best of friends, Pugh did have some things to say about the role of sex in the film. Talking to HarperÔÇÖs Bazaar, she said she didnÔÇÖt want the film reduced to just the sex scenes, focusing on ÔÇÿthe most famous pop star in the worldÔÇÖ going down on someone. It seems that Wilde doesnÔÇÖt share this opinion, based on the amount of sex scenes featured in the trailer alone.
It’s easy to think that all this controversy completely overshadowed the film itself, but it did actually receive a fairly impressive audience score of 75% on Rotten Tomatoes. It seems like regardless of the response to the off-screen events, the film was a moderate success with audiences, possibly in large part due to PughÔÇÖs incredible work as Alice. It does seem funny that after all the so-called arguments between Wilde and Pugh, Pugh really came across as the starring role and possibly the saving grace of this film (not that IÔÇÖm biased but all IÔÇÖm saying is give this girl an Oscar, please!)
