Don't Worry Darling

Story: Alice (Florence Pugh) and husband Jack (Harry Styles) lead an idyllic 1950’s life in a secret community called ‘Victory’, in the middle of a desert. Men wear suits and go to work. Women are dolled up obedient housewives with perfect bouffant. The ladies have all the comforts except for the liberty to ask questions. The women have no idea what their husbands do at Victory. What is it that they really do? Alice dares to crack this puzzle.


Review: A constant air of suspicion, paranoia and fear engulfs Olivia Wilde’s gothic thriller that holds you psychologically hostage throughout its runtime. It’s tragic that the film served as Hollywood gossip fodder for months because its unnerving premise and execution pack a punch.


You know something is not right about the utopian world and relationships that unfold and the truth is not far from it. Margaret, another woman from the community claims to know something but she is dismissed as delusional. Alice catches her slitting her throat and asks Jack about Victory’s workings. Calling it classified, he brushes her anxiety aside until she is haunted by striking dreams, images and visions. Her curiosity and sniffing around challenges the cult’s founder Frank (Chris Pine). What is Victory’s secret? What are they hiding?


DWD (Don't Worry Darling) exudes Jordan Peele’s ‘Get Out’ like eerie, uncertain energy. Tension mounts with every scene as you sense an incoming disaster like a ticking time bomb. The alarming silence is equivalent to the lull before the storm. Women diligently follow a set pattern and don’t ask why they are not allowed to step out of their homes. The men return from work with a wide smile and vague answers like, “We are changing the world.”


The atmospheric thriller works as a Black Mirror like commentary on power imbalance, culture of control and silence, consent, freedom of choice and a debate on preconceived gender roles and if they make life simpler. The build-up is moody and hypnotic and the twist in the climax unpredictable even if a tad underwhelming. The movement of camera, background score, suspicious exchange of gaze — all work in making you feel as trapped in the dubious world as the protagonist.


Florence Pugh is outstanding in a troubled role (Alice) reminiscent of Midsommar. She is captivating as a harrowed woman looking for answers. Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine and Gemma Chan are perfect in their respective roles but it is Florence that holds it all together. If you are fascinated by stories on controlled chaos and experimental societies, you’ll enjoy this thriller.