I’m No Longer Worried, Darling: A Review of Don’t Worry Darling
By: Mallory Johnson
(Picture credit: iMDB)
Actor-Director Olivia Wilde’s latest controversial film Don’t Worry Darling hit theatres on September 23rd, and I was lucky enough to see it with friends on release day. I really enjoyed it - I had low expectations going in because of what the critics were saying, but my expectations were exceeded! The movie follows a 1950s housewife who lives with her husband in a utopian neighbourhood called The Victory Project, who notices some weird happenings and worries about what is going on while her husband is at work. The film stars Florence Pugh (Midsommar, Little Women), Harry Styles in his largest film role yet (Dunkirk, Eternals), Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy, Cowboys Vs Aliens), Chris Pine (the Star Trek franchise, Wonder Woman), Gemma Chan (Eternals, Crazy Rich Asians), Kiki Layne (Native Son, The Old Guard), and Nick Kroll (Big Mouth, Sausage Party). Before I go any further, SPOILER ALERT. Also, trigger warnings for: blood, abduction, electro-shock therapy, toxic masculinity, gaslighting, a cult, graphic suicide, domestic abuse, sexual violence, stalking, alcohol, restraints, drowning, mention of child death, death, murder, claustrophobia, a plane crash, flashing lights/images, sexual content, and a car crash.
Florence Pugh plays the lead housewife, Alice, and Harry Styles plays her husband, Jack. Florence is a phenomenal actress, and absolutely steals every scene she is in. You can tell she really put the work in to ace this role. Harry is a good actor too, but he has his moments that are less than perfect. It is important to remember that Harry is a musician first and not an actor first like Florence. This is Harry’s first big film role; he was previously in a post-credit scene in the Marvel movie Eternals and his very first movie was the war epic Dunkirk where he played a small part. I was nervous for Harry’s acting going into the movie because the critiques and reviews I had seen made it sound like Harry did a terrible job, but I disagree! I was also worried about his accent, which in clips released early sounded very British (but he is British in the movie, so I had nothing to worry about).
Florence’s performance makes you feel like you are in the Victory Project with her: you feel all her fear and confusion. There was so much to unpack about the movie after I saw it (full of spoilers that I won’t discuss here). The timeliness of when the movie came out makes the major plot twist hit harder. I had seen one TikTok of a woman theorizing what ended up being the big plot twist and it is wild to see that someone guessed it just from the trailers and set pictures alone! I personally did not find the twist predictable at all (although I had seen a spoiler about it the day before it came out). The movie is a psychological thriller that messes with your head for a while after you finish watching.
Overall, I really enjoyed Don’t Worry Darling; I loved the direction, the cinematography, and the acting. The soundtrack and the costuming helped cement the 50s setting in a great (and eerie) way. I highly recommend watching it, especially in a theatre with friends and/or family. I may be biased because I am a huge Harry Styles and Florence Pugh fan, but I truly do not think there is anything to worry about regarding the movie. I give it a strong 10/10 and am excited to watch it again and again!