I'm not that worried, darling- 'Don’t Worry Darling'

 

Writing this about an hour after seeing Olivia Wilde's 'Don't Worry Darling' in the cinema with my Mum, I can tell you her review of the film would be very different from mine.

This was Wilde's second directorial film, following the teen comedy 'Booksmart'. This is a fan favourite for many including myself, loving the film for its original spin on a classic film genre. Unlike her debut, 'Don't Worry Darling' has had a lot more media attention surrounding the activities and behaviours of members of the cast and crew. Who doesn't love a bit of Olivia Wilde, Harry Style, Florence Pugh gossip. I don't have an opinion on whether I like Wilde or not, didn't exactly love her "Miss Flo" comments. However I didn't plan on commenting much on the gossip surrounding the film, mainly because I have lots of thoughts on the actual film, but I will say this; if the director was a man would it be different? 

Anyway on to the film...

Florence fucking Pugh. As a lot of us already thought, Pugh is an amazing actress. She was brilliant in 'Midsummer' and 'Little Women' so I was just excited to see her be the protagonist in a female directed film, and boy did she deliver. As the film got more and more strange, Pugh absolutely nailed the gaslight craziness. 

The film is set in a vibrant, peaceful, 50s desert-isolated development (which was aesthetically cool as fuck) in which Pugh fit perfectly, playing the dotting and very horny housewife perfectly. I was now going to write a short note explaining how the score was fucking terrifying, literally stressing me out in the cinema the entirety of the film, so I googled who composed it to give a cheeky name drop and of course it was the legendary John Powell. So what more do I have to say, the score was excellent. 

Feel I have to mention the other main protagonist in the film Mr Harry Styles. I had done the classic, assumed he was shit because of the confusing accented drama GCSE-esc clips of him yelling I had seen on twitter prior to watching the film. But that was one of the reasons I was excited to see it, was he really shit? Answer, no. I didn't think he was shit if anything I thought he was quite good but that's all I've got to say really because to me he did not stand out in this film. Not a comment on him doing poor but more emphasising how good the film cast, set and score is as a whole. Quick note on how much I loved Bunny and Peg, their characters added a lot more comedic flare than I was expecting and both Olivia Wilde and Kate Berlant's performances was spot on. 

For a 123 minute run time is leaves open lots of criticism (from me) regarding if all the scenes were necessary; more and more new films go over that two hour mark ,and more and more I feel they could of been under it. 'Don't Worry Darling' didn't really make me think that. I enjoyed the majority of the film, not feeling it drag in the middle and was genuinely interested in each scene. However that does definitely not mean I liked the choices in every scene, especially in the concluding final few. Shelley stabs and presumable kills Frank saying "It's my turn now". I thought that scene was utter bullshit. When I expressed that opinion to my Mum she mentioned the possibility for a sequel as this scene was stand alone, not leading to any conclusion just left being a loose end, which felt cheap to me. In films aimed to be box office hits and/or streaming site success including a clear loose end near the finale of the film makes sense, but it this film I thought it felt messy. 

On the whole, the plot was confusingly fun, I enjoyed and I would recommend to a friend (yet now I've seen it don't really know if I could care to see it again). But I do think the film is just that, a fun watch.

Evie 27 September 2022