Don't Worry Darling

Olivia Wilde's second directorial effort is nowhere near as bad as I expected it to be given the firestorm of behind-the-scenes drama and production troubles. But it's also just not nearly as interesting or as well-put-together as it ought to be given it's fierce, original, thrilling premise.

It's a sleek-looking production, and Wilde does some very smooth work behind the camera. Most of the performances are extremely good (especially Florence Pugh's), but some of the supporting cast does put a little too much ham into their work.

Despite some clunky dialogue that consists largely of repetitive empty platitudes, the story is able to build a lot of intrigue with its intelligent placement of bizarre happenings. It causes its audience to ask questions and tests their patience by withholding and bestowing information in just the right doses.

This intrigue lasts for the first two acts, although the film's character development unfortunately falls to the wayside because the mystery was given all the attention.

It's a shame, because the third act and final twists of the story make all the nuance and complexity of the mysterious characters and world-building slip away.

At the film's conclusion, I was left dissatisfied. Dissatisfied with the fact that the villains' motivations were oversimplified to the point that their actions no longer make much sense.

It's like they deliberately planned to go about achieving their goals in the most convoluted, difficult way possible and in a way that would make them the most vulnerable that they could possibly be. It's a laughable ending with hilariously half-baked twists.

Don't Worry Darling is one of those movies that's bursting with imaginative, intriguing ideas, but never quite finds a way to put them together in a satisfying, coherent way. It's messy and not particularly satisfying as a result.

It's just a rip off of The Stepford Wives, but worse. A trash screenplay that even talented actors like Pugh and Pine can't make convincing... and Harry Styles should stick to music.

I don't know what Olivia Wilde was thinking with this unoriginal premise, especially in terms of not giving credit where it's due and saying it's at least "inspired by" Ira Levin's work.

She should've just adapted his book directly instead of this confused, over-the-top plot that takes itself too seriously instead of being a satire.

As for the drama behind the scenes I really don't care about any of that. It wouldn't have changed the quality of the film, at least in my opinion.

Jack and Alice move to the small town of Victory, a place where the men go to work on a project of national secrecy and importance, and the woman stay at home, cooking and cleaning, living a domestic life, not everything is as it seems.

I was seriously looking forward to this film, the trailers looked amazing, and the very presence of Florence Pugh and Harry Styles made it seem mouth wateringly good.

It's one of those films I'd say is ok, I was a little disappointed if I'm honest, I was hoping for a sharp thriller, and what I felt I was presented with, was a film that just didn't go far enough, they could have developed several threads, it felt like they held back.

I think pacing is one of the major issues, some of the scenes are so padded out, it could have been a lot sharper. It does at least end with some excitement, the pacing improves as it heads towards the conclusion. The car chase sequences are decent, and the revelation is pretty well done.

The best element, Florence Pugh, I would say she gives a dazzling performance, she really does deliver, Pine and Styles are good, though I'm not sure the film gets the best out of either.

The music and Cinematography cannot be questioned, it's a dazzling looking movie, so many incredible looking sequences, that moment at the club where Alice begins to catch on to what's happening is great, butt Jack's big party, is perhaps the film's best moment.

6/10.

This is the movie I was looking forward to most all year. I avoided all the behind the scenes drama and press surrounding it so that I would enjoy the movie for the movie itself because I was so excited purely based on the cast alone, plus the soundtrack too after hearing Ooogum Boogum song by Brenton Wood in one of the teasers. It starts off showing us this perfect life, too perfect so you have this too good to be true feeling and know that something's amiss throughout. It gave off 60's American dream life in the suburb's vibes.

Chris Pine really catches your attention with his charisma the way he speaks every time he's on screen, but he's not saying anything of actual substance. And that's how the whole movie feels, very captivating and pretty to look at, visually stunning; Olivia Wilde did a great job, well produced and has artistic direction but it all feels empty. The writing falls flat and it's hallow. Someone said Chris Pine is used to disguise mediocre movies after 'All the Old Knives' and I'm starting to see it, he just makes movies seem better than they really are. Olivia Wilde and Florence Pugh did good, with Harry Styles doing as good as you'd expect.

Slow paced so it has a lot of suspense, arousing questions all movie long and when they finally start getting answered it's too little too late; the reveal is not big enough to justify the wait. It was an ambitious attempt and showing of Wilde's ability but ultimately underwhelming. It's just about better than mediocre with everything it does right but other aspects of the movie can't put it beyond a 6/10. Just feels like it's missing something. Not as bad as the press around it was, nor as good as those who were hopeful for it thought it was going to be.

I thought this was a great psychological thriller that had a twist that was definitely unexpected. It kept you guessing throughout and had the creepy vibe I love in movies. Florence carried the acting but I was also pleasantly surprised by Harry's performance. Was it the best movie I've ever seen? No but I definitely enjoyed it. As for claims that Olivia is a "bad director" I truly don't know what that job entails but I do feel like a lot of the social media hype and drama surrounding this movie has people just wanting to hate on it due to its popularity. Movies are literally just meant for us to sit back and enjoy so I wish people would stop being so dramatic about it honestly. The movie makes you think about the world we live in today and truly how some men want life to be. Interesting concept overall.