Don't Worry Darling

I'm trying to remember the last time an ending felt so uneventful that it caused me to groan out loud in disbelief.  Going through my memories and reviews, I believe it was The Turning from 2020.  Don't Worry Darling is a thriller that offers little during its roughly two hour run time, and then reaches a climax that makes you realize it had even less to say than you thought. 

Three years ago, actress Olivia Wilde made her directing debut with the smart and funny coming of age comedy, Booksmart.  Here, she reunites with that film's screenwriter, Katie Silberman, but the intelligence of their earlier movie is completely absent here.  Instead, we get a thriller that is supposed to be keeping us guessing, but is surprisingly easy to figure out.  Watching the film, I felt like I was witnessing a magic show where the magician thinks they're concealing the secret behind the act, but it's plainly visible for the audience to see.  I could list the other movies that Don't Worry Darling uses for inspiration, but it would probably be considered a spoiler.  All I will say is that while you'll probably see the reveal coming from a mile away, you will never guess how clumsily it's all handled in its final moments.

The movie is set in one of those "perfect" suburban towns that is modeled after 1950s pop culture and sitcoms.  Does Hollywood still think this idea is fresh?  We've had so many movies focused on "dark secrets of the suburbs" that use an intentionally ironic and over the top 1950s styling that I kind of wish filmmakers would find another decade of sitcom images to satirize.  It's the kind of place where all the men drive off to work everyday, and the women stay behind to run a perfect home, prepare a meal, and be waiting for them at the door with a drink in their hand the second they return home.  The men polish their cars, while the women are there to ask if there's anything they can get them.

One of those wives is Alice, played by Florence Pugh, who continues her reputation as being one of the best young actresses working today, even when she's stuck with material like this.  Like all the women in this town, Alice is dutiful to her husband, Jack (Harry Styles), and wishes only to please him.  But, Alice is starting to have visions she can't explain.  She randomly hums a melody that she doesn't remember ever hearing, and when she witnesses a plane crash off in the distance, she can't get anyone to listen to her.  When one of the other local wives starts to share her concerns ("This is wrong", she ominously tells Alice), the other woman suffers an accident.  However, Alice knows she saw that woman slit her own throat.

The town Doctor (Timothy Simons) prescribes pills to help her anxiety, and Jack reassures her that everything is fine, and that they should focus on starting a family.  But Alice can't shake the feeling that something is not right about this town, or her life.  The head of the community is the shady Frank (Chris Pine), who stresses order and control above all else.  Why is Alice not allowed to go too far out into the desert that surrounds their little "perfect" street?  What is out there?  The answers do eventually come in an ending that is such a non-event, it reads more like the screenwriter gave up and tossed their laptop out the window.  It's also bound to bring up more questions that the film doesn't bother to answer, and I can't go into, again at the risk of spoilers.

Don't Worry Darling has been handsomely shot, and Olivia Wilde continues to show her strength as a filmmaker.  It's the script that's at fault here.  Well, that and as good as Pugh and most of the cast are, Harry Styles lacks screen presence as her husband.  Yes, I understand that he is supposed to be distant and keeping secrets from her, but he's clearly phoning it in.  Outside of the rare off performance, this is a well-made bad movie.  You kind of have to wonder what happened.  The original spec script (credited to Carey and Shane Van Dyke, before Silberman's final rewrite) wound up on the Black List for the best unproduced screenplays, and the film apparently attracted a bidding war between multiple studios.  Why, exactly?  The movie ends up saying next to nothing, and closes on a note that will only leave a bad taste in the mouth of its audience.

The movie has been getting a lot of media attention, due to rumored clashes between the talent during filming and the press tour, as well as controversy surrounding the firing of its original male star, Shia LeBeouf (whom Styles took over for).  This gave me a bad feeling, as it seemed like people were talking more about what happened behind the scenes rather than the actual film.  Having seen it, whatever must have happened during filming has to be more interesting.  To quote Gene Siskel, "Is this movie better than watching a documentary of the actors involved eating lunch, and having a real conversation"?  The answer is, no.

0 comments