are we done worrying now? my don't worry darling debrief and review
i HAD to - in honor of Miss Flo.
It just really feels like…a movie.
Don’t Worry Darling and the lore surrounding its release has been circling the internet for the last two months at a rate I have MISSED from pop culture. On set romances, behind-the-scenes casting debacles, leaked private messages between talent, icy press tours, people spitting on each other - Twitter has had an absolute field day around this movie’s press rollout in a fashion I have not seen in a long time.
(Now, if you have absolutely no clue what I’m talking about, do a quick Google search for me.)
From the moment Harry Styles was cast alongside Florence Pugh, I knew this film was set to produce unprecedented amounts of hype, but nothing could’ve prepared me for the timeline of events that occurred.
Now, I have been tapped into Shia Labeouf’s various endeavors since the iconic “I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE” brown paper bag incident - which is still one of my favorite red carpet moments to this day. His stint as a performance artist was incredibly entertaining, and please if you haven’t already, go watch the star-studded Fast Times At Ridgemont High virtual table read, birthed as a fundraiser for COVID relief efforts - Shia truly gives the unhinged performance of a lifetime. The creative liberties he took in portraying Jeff Spicoli are truly...well you can see for yourself.
Aside from all of Shia’s notable internet moments, I must say I was especially surprised that he was tapped to play the lead of Jack in Don’t Worry Darling. He’s not exactly the most liked guy in Hollywood, and after his various sexual harassment allegations leaked (which came out after he left the project), I think a lot of people’s thoughts about him were only confirmed. What surprised me the most was Olivia Wilde’s instance and determination in having him in the film. Even having only watched the trailer at the time, it was clear that there was no way this film could have been what it was if Shia had been cast instead of Harry Styles. After watching the movie, that was confirmed for me.
When it comes to the Florence Pugh vs. Olivia Wilde debate that stormed the internet, in all honesty I was on Team Florence for long time. After seeing the movie, I think my mind has changed. I’m on Team Both of Them! At first, the rumors of Olivia being absent from set or distracted from her job as both director and producer to be with Harry had me convinced. Maybe that’s the internalized misogyny in myself coming to light, or maybe, as the rest of the internet was, I was mad Harry Styles was taken. When you take another beat to really think about it, Olivia Wilde is a grown, intelligent, experienced actress and director, and this movie is set to make or break her reputation as a director. Booksmart was critically acclaimed, so Don’t Worry Darling is her chance to prove that she’s not just a one-movie-wonder. I truly doubt that Wilde would risk her career simply to trapeze off with her new boyfriend, especially fresh off her very public divorce. And now that the movie is out, does any of it really matter anymore?
From the moment Don’t Worry Darling was even a whisper in Hollywood’s ear, the internet has been buzzing waiting for its release. And now, we’re finally here. Me being the person I am, I bought my ticket early to make sure I could see it on release day and, wow. I have thoughts.
Now if you continue reading below this point, I’m warning you that there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk.
Here are just a few of my big picture thoughts:
Olivia Wilde Setting Out to Make a Feminist Film
I think the movie missed the mark on this for me - it’s not really a feminist film. Considering that the primary reason Alice and Jack live in Victory is because Jack is an incel who can’t stand the fact that his wife works while he stays home unemployed, I don’t see how that empowers Alice in any way? Sure, Alice uncovers that her husband has been trapping her in this simulation and goes on her own heroic journey, but the result of her journey to freedom ends on quite a misogynistic note. The big reveal of the movie centers male insecurity and inadequacy - Jack is pissed that his wife is never home to cook or have sex with him, so he quite literally traps her in a 1950’s-esque simulation where he gets to live out a Stepford Wives fantasy and have his wife cook and clean for him while he goes to work. That doesn’t seem very feminist to me - however the idea that this film is inherently feminist because it has a female director is one that I deeply reject. Wilde herself has also rejected that idea, so her stating that she wanted this film to have feminist themes surprised me but also expected considering her values.
Learning More About the Victory Project and How Jack Became Involved
I wish we got a chance to understand how the Victory Project came about in the real life, to give greater context as to how Jack can go from reading discord forums about this ideology to then be fully immersed in the simulation. I think the end of the movie missed that mark for me in that we didn’t necessarily get enough time to gather just how Jack got to where see him when the movie begins. It felt a bit rushed – we’re not even provided much dialogue during the tense reveal sequence to give context to Jack and Alice’s real-life relationship. We are provided an unsettling look at what Harry Styles looks like as an incel which I don’t think literally anyone asked for, but thank you Olivia Wilde for that image, which now lives rent free in my brain. Outside of Jack and Alice’s relationship backstory, we don’t get any backstory as to the Victory Project itself and its’ genesis or literally just background on how it works. We do get to see Jack developing his Victory persona and getting assessed to live there, but besides that we acquire no other information.
The Male Control Over Victory
As I watched the film and the anticipated reveal came, I was truly impressed at the concept despite the lackluster pay off that it provided. Even though Don’t Worry Darling isn’t a feminist film, I thought positioning the reveal to be that Jack has been the villain all along due to his insecurity and inadequacy was a smart conclusion to lead the audience to. That reveal’s commentary on incel forums, male supremacist ideologies, and the Andrew Tates and Jordan Petersons of the world is so of the times in a way that I loved - it played such an interesting role against the Jack’s Victory Project persona. The idea that all these men are living out some sick fantasy where women remain submissive immediately reminded me of the idealistic way a subset of people love to say that they “wish they could go back to the 1950’s, when life was simpler.” Yeah, here’s a look into how that would go.
Don’t Worry Darling’s Obligations as a Psychological Thriller
As a thriller that relies on building up to a big grand reveal, this film spends the first three-fourths of its two-hour runtime developing a plot that leads the audience to a lackluster reveal. A movie like Don’t Worry Darling is set up to be the type of film you’re able to rewatch and put pieces together within the plot to help understand the greater themes and ideas the movie presents. Here, the audience is given a rapid fifteen-minute montage in the real world with Jack and Alice that rushes the viewer through its’ reveal, resulting in a confusing payoff. My friend Elle (hi Miss Fletcher!) and I spoke about this, and her view was that Wilde expected viewers to walk away from the film with a good amount of information to allow the audience to make educated guesses on what happens next, and use imagination to fill in the spaces.
My Rapid Fire Questions
Is that one lady really pregnant?
What are all those earthquakes about?
Can someone please tell me why the plane warps in the first place!?
Why does Shelly kill Frank? I thought she was also drinking the kool-aid? That whole speech at the dinner table was a sham, huh?
Why can only the men die in the simulation? I’m assuming because they are the ones that hold the main stake in the whole VR world, but then again Bunny is also there voluntarily…
Miss Olivia, do you really want me to believe that incel Jack is somehow managing to keep real-life Alice alive and well while simultaneously coming back into the real world to “work”, but before this simulation he was unemployed and depressed? I guess misogyny is one hell of a drug.
What does Jack’s promotion mean for Alice and Jack’s life in Victory?
WHY does Harry tap dance? Now, I am of the camp of people that truly enjoyed that scene and loved the juxtaposition of it besides Alice & Bunny’s climactic bathroom convo, but could we have at least gotten a reason as to why he does that besides just reinforcing Frank’s power over all the men in Victory.
Overall, Don’t Worry Darling was a good film. The cinematography blew me away, Olivia Wilde reminded me how incredible an actress she is, and Florence Pugh yet again showed us all how deserving she is to be on the silver screen. As a passionate award-show viewer, I cannot wait for the Oscar nominations to be announced, because I have a strong feeling Miss Flo is going to crown the top of the list.