Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) are a young married couple living in an idyllic mid-century desert enclave run by an organization called the Victory Project. Jack, like the other men in their community, has a job at Victory Project HQ, where they make \u201cprogressive materials,\u201d whatever that means. Alice and the other wives stay home, keep their houses spotless, and prepare impeccable meals for their husbands. It\u2019s a simple, highly gendered existence, but Alice loves it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then, of course, everything changes. For Alice, that catalyst comes in Margaret (KiKi Layne), her former friend who seems to be dealing with mental health issues. Like Margaret, Alice starts experiencing hallucinations. After she follows one of them out into the desert on her own, Alice discovers something else that slowly unravels her whole world. Unfamiliar memories come bubbling up. Friends and neighbors\u2019 stories about their lives start to overlap. The community\u2019s founder Frank (Chris Pine) and his wife Shelley (Gemma Chan) know more than they\u2019re letting on, hiding something sinister behind their carefully crafted exteriors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As with many stories involving questioned realities and piles of secrets, the truth at the heart of Don\u2019t Worry Darling<\/em> isn\u2019t as interesting as the leadup to it (not to mention begging many logistical questions that can\u2019t be sufficiently answered). The movie\u2019s central metaphor isn\u2019t exactly subtle either\u2014a gala event where Pine asks the crowd whose world this is, and Styles emphatically responds \u201cours\u201d tells you about all you need to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, that central idea isn\u2019t without merit, and Don\u2019t Worry Darling<\/em> has some neat tricks up its sleeve that keep things interesting up until the moment it no longer quite works. The film is buoyed by a fierce performance from Pugh, who credibly embodies both a woman deeply in love with her husband and her life, and someone grasping at straws as that life comes apart at the seams. It\u2019s also lovely to look at, thanks to Matthew Libatique\u2019s glowing cinematography, which complements shot after shot of gorgeous mid-century modern design. Alice\u2019s house may be a prison, but it\u2019s also the stuff estate sale dreams are made of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t Worry Darling<\/em> aspires to be as clever as other movies (Get Out<\/em> and 1975\u2019s The Stepford Wives<\/em> are clear influences) that it\u2019s not really in the same league with. It\u2019s not great art. It is, however, a solid piece of entertainment that\u2019s still a little more thoughtful than the average blockbuster, and provides plenty of eye candy to keep viewers happy besides. Whether it was worth a never-ending stream of social media commentary is debatable, but it\u2019s worth checking out nevertheless. “Don’t Worry Darling” is in theaters Friday.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/dont-worry2-1024x542.jpg\")
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