There has been a lot of controversy surrounding Don’t Worry Darling in the weeks leading up to its release. There has been talk of a rift between the director Olivia Wilde and one of the stars Florence Pugh and Wilde has come under fire for dating another actor in the film, Harry Styles. That all has a whiff of misogyny about it, but it has lead to the film being written-off as a flop before it was even released, though initial box office returns suggest that it will do pretty well.
Pugh stars as Alice Chambers, a housewife living in 1950’s America. It seems she is leading an ideal and affluent life, married to Jack (Styles) but beneath the surface, there are dark secrets. They do not seem to be able to leave the town of Victory and the work all the men do at The Victory Project run by the sinister Frank (Chris Pine) is very vague.
This is an incredibly stylish and stylised film, with Wilde replicating the technicolour sheen familiar from movies of that period. She also keeps us guessing about what really is going on in the town and at the company until pretty near the end. However, the actual ending does not make any sense based on what we have seen before. Pugh is again excellent as Alice begins to question what is happening. Styles has come in for some criticism but he is fine.
Handsomely made, but a little overlong, and with an unsatisfying conclusion.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10