Some Small Thoughts on Don’t Worry Darling…
Like most other avid Harry Styles fans, I naturally had to check out Don’t Worry Darling this past weekend. The film is now infamous for it’s behind the scenes drama with director Olivia Wilde and for being Harry Styles’ first lead role. Styles plays Jack Chambers alongside Florence Pugh, the star of the film, who plays Alice Chambers. Jack and Alice, a clean cut perfect couple with a stimulating sex life (the film never lets you forget that), live in the company town of Victory. The seemingly perfect life that surrounds Alice begins to fall apart as she uncovers a dark secret as to why anyone lives in Victory in the first place.
Upon entering the theater, I prepared myself to see some questionable acting from Harry Styles, given all of the reviews and comments so far. Styles, only having appeared in one other film prior to this one (Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk), clearly has limited acting experience. I was surprised, and perhaps relieved, to discover that Styles’ acting was just fine. He was outshined by Florence Pugh, but that was inevitable. Pugh is an established actress and brilliant at what she does, and she devoured this role.
It was fun to watch Don’t Worry Darling unfold, but at the end of it you’re left with a slight feeling of dissatisfaction. The story itself was The Stepford Wives meets Matrix, and with a mix like that viewers are bound to be left with a lot of questions. Beyond a few missing plot points and an eerie similarity to The Stepford Wives, it can’t be denied that the film was, at the very least, an interesting watch.
The repetition of day to day activities mimicked the feeling of gradually going insane. The close up shots of glossy sunny-side up eggs and crispy, fat soaked bacon were a dream to look at the first time. Every repeated action became sickening to the viewer just as it did to Alice in the film. Harry Styles looking like a basement man towards the end of the film was a bit much for me, but I’ll move past it. This film was a big fish to fry for Styles, but I’m pleased to say the fish was fried adequately, with perhaps a lack of seasoning. I’m excited to see where his next film, My Policeman, takes him in terms of his acting.