Don’t Worry Darling movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Don’t Worry Darling

This psychological thriller movie was released in theaters on September 23, 2022.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 2 hours 3 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: C+

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie is directed by the beautiful Olivia Wilde, who also stars in it. She wanted to play the leading lady but decided on Florence Pugh after seeing her gripping performance in the movie Midsommar in 2019. Katie Silberman wrote it, as well as helped produce the movie. It was on Hollywood’s Black List for a time until Olivia Wilde picked it up and began filming during the pandemic.

The film won an award at the Venice Film Festival.

THINGS I LIKED:

Florence Pugh knocks it out of the park in every role she plays. She’s mesmerizing to watch in this psychological thriller. Do we smell an Oscar nomination? I hope so. She’s really fantastic in everything she does.
The rest of the cast is terrific and includes Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and the charismatic Chris Pine.
Olivia Wilde stated that Chris Pine’s character is based on the famous psychologist Jordan B. Peterson. That doesn’t seem like a compliment.
Florence Pugh hums a tune throughout the movie that helps her discover the truth about Victory Corporation. Fun fact: it’s an original track by Harry Styles who plays her husband in the movie.
Fantastic set pieces that take you back in time to the 50s suburb life. (That’s before my time!) The filming was done in Palm Springs, California where there are many mid-century-modern homes and buildings. The headquarters we see of the Victory Corporation is known as the “volcano house” and was owned by PBS TV personality Huell Howser. The exterior has been seen in other movies, but this is the first time some of the interiors have been seen in a movie.
You might remember hearing about this movie in the news when director Olivia Wilde was served custody papers from Jason Sudeikis right when she was introducing the trailer premiere. Other news about the drama behind the scenes reveals this Warner Brothers movie was fairly difficult to make. For some viewers, that has negatively affected how they feel about the movie.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

There are a lot of plot holes that will annoy you after you watch the movie and try to make sense of the story. There are simply too many ideas that aren’t explained or resolved. This is an example of style over substance in filmmaking.
Act 3 shows a dramatic shift in story and aesthetic. It also feels extremely rushed and messy.
Too many and unnecessary sex scenes.