Don't Worry Darling (C or 2/4 stars)
A woman finds that something is amiss about her seemingly idyllic 1950s married life in 'Don't Worry Darling' (directed by Olivia Wilde). The film opens in a desert oasis community called Victory; resembling those faux nuclear-test towns built by the government. Alice & Jack Chambers (Florence Pugh, Harry Styles), are one of several couples living in the suburban paradise where all the husbands leave at exactly the same time every morning to head for their clandestine Victory project jobs at a nearby top-secret locale while all the wives stay behind to perform their housewifey duties. Presiding over all matters is the charismatic Frank (Chris Pine), whose cult-like hold over everyone extends to his beautiful, submissive wife, Shelley (Gemma Chan).
But one of the wives, Margaret (KiKi Layne), no longer buys what Frank is selling and, before gaslighting Frank attends to her situation, Margaret is able to plant the seed of doubt into intelligent Alice. While everyone else just assumes that Margaret is having a sort of mental breakdown, Alice starts to doubt the pristine perfection of her world despite repeated vows from her BFF, Bunny (Olivia Wilde), that nothing is wrong. But Alice's bizarre visions, weird dreams & a plane crash-gone-unnoticed by all except for her make her doubts grow exponentially. Just what is going on here!?
What's going on here, ultimately, is that I just didn't care. The Stepford Wives/Truman Show-like premise of this film is somewhat interesting. But the script by Katie Silberman, Carey & Shane Van Dyke (Dick's grandsons) doesn't flesh things out enough; the potential for psychological terror & horror is neutered. How it all unfolds feels like some B or C-level Twilight Zone episode ... and not a high quality major motion picture. Most of the acting is quite good and, the film looks great {stylish period sets; chic costumes; camera work that employs black & white, odd angles, etc). But even an engaging, well-shot car chase scene near the end gave off a vibe of 'well, this is cool but I feel like the film is ending soon and this chase ain't gonna save it'.
See, I was kinda sorta enjoying things as they played out. I was reasonably intrigued where things were heading. But before long, I guessed the upcoming twists, the conclusion felt contrived and, some unanswered questions left me irked. Florence Pugh gives it her all; as she always does. It is fun watching her slowly realize that something is wrong here and, we want her to figure it out before it's too late. But again, the most damning thing of all is that I didn't care. This movie will make a lottttt of $$ because of music superstar Harry Styles co-leading, and because there has been much tabloid gossip about the behind-the-scenes drama btwn. Olivia Wilde & her co-stars. But in the end, it's the movie that matters. And it didn't matter much, to me.
But one of the wives, Margaret (KiKi Layne), no longer buys what Frank is selling and, before gaslighting Frank attends to her situation, Margaret is able to plant the seed of doubt into intelligent Alice. While everyone else just assumes that Margaret is having a sort of mental breakdown, Alice starts to doubt the pristine perfection of her world despite repeated vows from her BFF, Bunny (Olivia Wilde), that nothing is wrong. But Alice's bizarre visions, weird dreams & a plane crash-gone-unnoticed by all except for her make her doubts grow exponentially. Just what is going on here!?
What's going on here, ultimately, is that I just didn't care. The Stepford Wives/Truman Show-like premise of this film is somewhat interesting. But the script by Katie Silberman, Carey & Shane Van Dyke (Dick's grandsons) doesn't flesh things out enough; the potential for psychological terror & horror is neutered. How it all unfolds feels like some B or C-level Twilight Zone episode ... and not a high quality major motion picture. Most of the acting is quite good and, the film looks great {stylish period sets; chic costumes; camera work that employs black & white, odd angles, etc). But even an engaging, well-shot car chase scene near the end gave off a vibe of 'well, this is cool but I feel like the film is ending soon and this chase ain't gonna save it'.
See, I was kinda sorta enjoying things as they played out. I was reasonably intrigued where things were heading. But before long, I guessed the upcoming twists, the conclusion felt contrived and, some unanswered questions left me irked. Florence Pugh gives it her all; as she always does. It is fun watching her slowly realize that something is wrong here and, we want her to figure it out before it's too late. But again, the most damning thing of all is that I didn't care. This movie will make a lottttt of $$ because of music superstar Harry Styles co-leading, and because there has been much tabloid gossip about the behind-the-scenes drama btwn. Olivia Wilde & her co-stars. But in the end, it's the movie that matters. And it didn't matter much, to me.