Don’t Worry Darling. It is the title of the new film from Olivia Wilde. It is also the advice from the producers and executives telling the cast and crew to ignore the discourse. A film whose bumpy road to cinemas has driven through miles of gossip column inches about the making of the movie that has overshadowed any discussion over whether the film is actually any good. With the film’s release this weekend, it is time to find out the truth… As the doctor tells Florence Pugh’s character after an episode, best to “Keep calm and carry on”.
In the 1950s, Alice and Jack live in the idealised community of Victory, an experimental company town that houses the men who work on a top-secret project. While the husbands toil away, the wives get to enjoy the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their seemingly perfect paradise. However, when cracks in her idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something sinister lurking below the surface, Alice can’t help but question exactly what she’s doing in Victory.
Let’s address the elephant in the room head on. Despite all the tabloid and industry gossip written about the film, none of the issues surrounding the supposed “troubled production” are visible on screen.
Olivia Wilde delivered a fantastic debut feature in Booksmart. For this highly ambitious sophomore effort, she surrounded herself with a group of incredibly talented individuals, both on and off screen. Cinematographer Matthew Libatique, costume designer Arianne Phillips, production designer Katie Byron and composer John Powell all bring their A-game and the results are there to see on screen. Powell is probably the standout though, as his score evolves from a nostalgic Fifties vibe to an increasingly wild discord that charts Alice’s descent into madness.
Now while it looks and sounds beautiful, remove the shiny veneer and sadly there is nothing much going on inside. Just like a Stepford Wife if you will.
Given how Booksmart was such a positive, empowering film (one written and directed by women that was funny and celebrated female friendship), for Wilde to follow that with this film initially seems like a backwards step.
It hammers home the stereotypical view of the Fifties woman. One who is happiest when cooking and cleaning for her man who she meets with a glass of Scotch when he gets home from work.
However it is clear that something is off from the start. When something seems too good to be true… it probably isn’t. One hears the words of The Chords hit single Sh-Boom! echo around Victory:
“Life could be a dream
Sh-boom, if I could take you to a paradise up above
If you will tell me I’m the only one that you love
Life could be a dream, sweetheart, hello, hello again
Sh-boom and hopin’ we’ll meet again, boom
Life could be a dream
If only all my precious plans would come true
If you would let me spend my whole life loving you
Life could be a dream, sweetheart”
So one expects to find something rotten in the state of Denmark Victory. It can be compared to a number of films across a variety of genres but to list them in a review would potentially give the game away.
Not that that matters because whilst it sets itself up for an earth-shattering reveal, most of the audience will have guessed its final destination and it is one is sadly obvious and disappointing. The film comes crashing down in the third act.
Ultimately it does not matter how pretty the house that Wilde built is, when it is built on the weak foundations of a screenplay that crumbles under the weight of its own, and the audiences, expectations. The only real surprise is that the story the screenplay was based on was written by two of the grandchildren of Dick Van Dyke… yes, that one!
What saves it though is the performance of Florence Pugh. She is head and shoulders above everyone else in the cast. And those shoulders would have been sore from carrying the film on them for the duration of its runtime.
It should come as no surprise. The Falling, Lady Macbeth, Fighting With My Family, Midsommar, Little Women, Cooking With Flo (which there is a cheeky nod to in the opening scene as she prepares dinner). She has proven time and time again that she can rise to any challenge. She is a tempest that blows through the film like a sandstorm in the desert surrounding Victory. Only Chris Pine is able to stand toe-to-toe with her at her peak.
At the heart of Don’t Worry Darling lies the mysterious question; What is the Victory project? Ultimately, it is one where the answer only leads to more questions. However there is certainly no question over Miss Flo’s talent.
Don’t Worry Darling is in cinemas now
Rating: 
Director: Olivia Wilde
Stars: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine
Runtime: 122 minutes
Country: USA
