Olivia Wilde’s new film, Don’t Worry Darling, was released a week ago and there were many mixed emotions and reviews that did indeed have us worrying darling. After all the speculation and drama leading up to the release of the film, I amongst many others, had high expectations for this film! However it only scored a 39% on rotten tomatoes but it did make $19.2 million at the box office on its opening weekend, I myself contributed $20 to that. This psychological thriller is filled with big A-list celebrities. Harry Styles, Florence Pugh, and Chris Pine take us into a 1950s utopian life of a housewife. Things quickly begin to escalate, on and off screen. 

On screen, we follow the housewife Alice (Pugh) as she starts to realize her completely perfect lavish life may not be entirely normal. She has the perfectly handsome husband (Harry), amazing gossip girl friend (Olivia Wilde), perfect dresses, and perfect house until it all comes crashing down. Strange things start happening to Alice such as her neighbor acting strangely, things in her house begin to change, and she begins to notice almost every day is the same. The casting director did a phenomenal job of picking the perfect cast and the tension that was created was perhaps strategic for this idyllic film.l The cinematography of the film was incredible, it followed the rules of a 50s period piece with the warm toned lighting and the era accurate furniture, houses, and cars. Wilde also cleverly incorporated the horror rules with the zooming camera lenses, eerie soundtrack and your typical jumpscares. Though the dialogue did do our Harry dirty, the rest of the screen writing was tolerable.  

Off screen, the drama escalates the same… Perhaps the drama around the film was the sole reason it did so well at the box office: Harry “spitting” on Chris Pine, Harry’s questionable acting, Harry’s relationship with director Wilde, arguments between Wilde and Pugh and whatever else Hollywood has in store.

Although my all time favorite critic and podcaster Sean Fennessy gave this movie 1 ½ stars, I stay true to my 3 ½ stars. This movie and its drama, on and off screen, had me invested and on edge the entire 123 minutes. So, go buy your tickets while it’s still in theaters! It’s worth it to just see the work of our rising star Florence Pugh who may just become the greatest actress of our generation.