Don't Worry Darling (2022) **

 

The movie everyone is talking about this year is not great. It's not even very good. “Don't Worry Darling” is a mix of a hackneyed plot, some excellent acting, some poor acting, and a lot of controversy. (Also, the title is missing a comma.)

Florence Pugh plays Alice, a 50's housewife living what seems to be an idyllic life with her husband, Jack (Harry Styles). Jack works on a secretive project run by the charismatic Frank (Chris Pine). All the men on the project live in a desert subdivision with their families, and they aren't allowed to tell anyone, including their wives, what it is they are working on. Florence isn't bothered by the secrecy. She keeps a clean house, hangs out at the country club, and loves her husband. Events transpire, however, to make her believe there is something off about their community.

It's a fine story setup, but the script is unoriginal and full of holes. Director Olivia Wilde also throws in a lot of lame, artistic flourishes, with irises dilating and chorus girls kicking their legs in a circle. These do have the effect of distracting you from the nonsensical plot twists, so that while watching the movie, I was mainly annoyed by the out-of-place, artistic crap. Later, I started thinking about all the elements of the story that didn't make sense. So, basically, “Don't Worry Darling” is annoying to watch and annoying to think about afterwards.

The saving grace of the film is Florence Pugh, who is an outstanding actress and almost manages to pull this movie off. She is also a stone fox; you cannot take your eyes off her. The only other actor worth his salt in this movie is Chris Pine. The scenes between him and Florence Pugh sizzle. Harry Styles, on the other hand, is a good singer but not much of an actor, and Olivia Wilde doesn't make any great acting accomplishments here, either.

Far more interesting than the film itself is all the hubbub surrounding its making. The role of Jack was originally slated for Shia LaBoeuf, who has had his share of controversy, but is a decent actor. At some point, he left the cast. Olivia Wilde claimed she had fired him for being too combative, but LaBoeuf claimed he had quit, and he later produced a recorded call with Wilde in which she does seem to be begging him to stay on the film. Wilde also reportedly clashed with Florence Pugh on-set, and Pugh was notably absent from the promotion of the film, including its premiere. The truth of all these claims is known only to the people involved, but it does seem to me that Olivia Wilde is building a reputation for herself as being prickly and entitled. (I recall her expressing irritation a few years ago that people were referring to her movie “Booksmart” as a 'female “Superbad.”' Newsflash: They are practically the same movie. One of the main “Booksmart” characters is even the sister of Jonah Hill, from “Superbad.”)

All of this is really just gossip, but it at least adds some interest to a movie that cannot really stand on its on merits. The sad thing is that there is a decent, Stepford-wives-esque movie in there, somewhere. Dakota Johnson was attached at one point to play Frank's wife, and with her and Shia LaBoeuf in the cast along with Pugh and Pine, and with some tweaks to the script (including a shorter run-time), this could have been a decent movie.

I had somehow got it into my head that this was Olivia Wilde's directing debut, but of course it isn't. As mentioned above, she directed 2019's “Booksmart,” which, aside from being a female version of “Superbad,” was a reasonably-entertaining teen comedy. So, what's her excuse for this indulgent mess?

2 stars out of 5