Don't Worry Darling has to sustain interest - and credibility - for over two hours, which proves beyond its reach.Īs I say, this is no reflection on the actors. Of course, it was easy for those shows - they could wrap them up in a mere 20 minutes or so. This is one of those stories very popular in the '50s TV series The Twilight Zone - giving real life a "what if" twist.
The smarmy Frank sounds suspiciously familiar at times, too. It's the sort of brave new world summed up in the phrase "Make America Great Again". So many elements don't make sense - and I'm not just talking about Harry Styles' flat English accent in such a Californian setting. Right from the start, we're left in no doubt that something's dangerously "off" about the whole Victory Project. She starts to push back and lives to regret it. And above all, stay away from the Victory Project's HQ out in the desert.Īnd sooner or later you know that a feisty wife like Alice - Florence Pugh is the real star of Don't Worry Darling - isn't going to be pushed around by anyone, no matter how well-meaning they say they are. The Victory Project is run by a charismatic doctor called Frank - Chris Pine - who regularly reminds everyone they're living their best lives in the best of all possible worlds.īut there's one proviso. In fact, the whole film is a series of call-backs to other well-known movies, from the title - Don't Worry Darling sounds like an old Doris Day/Rock Hudson romcom - to the "what's really going on?" paranoia of The Matrix, The Truman Show and even The Handmaid's Tale. The entire neighbourhood is full of couples like Alice and Jack - the set design is very Edward Scissorhands meets The Stepford Wives. And at the end of the day "Hi honey I'm home", and cocktails all round. Hubby goes to work in the morning, Wifey does the housework and cooks the roast. Jack and his wife Alice - Florence Pugh - live the sort of life that probably only existed in old American sitcoms. Styles is actually a singer rather than an actor, and he was up against some pretty daunting competition - Florence Pugh, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, and Olivia Wilde, who also directed the film.īut Harry is not bad as the loving husband in a '50s-style fantasy world called the Victory Project. The original star was bumped in favour of the less experienced Harry Styles. Don't Worry Darling arrived in a hail of publicity, much of it unflattering.
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