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Don’t Worry Darling is a 1950s-set psychological drama, so by the very mention of that, you know a lot of weird nonsense is going to happen before too long, and you won’t be disappointed in expecting that.
We’re on the experimental housing estate of Victory, where all the men of the households are going to work at the same time to the Victory Project… even though they could just carpool to get there and save petrol?
Either way, while they’re away, the women all stay home, clean the house, then head out to do yoga, but one day, while Alice (Florence Pugh – Fighting With My Family) – wife of Jack (Harry Styles – apparently, shouting = acting for him) – makes dinner, she notices something is off because she’s somehow bought a load of empty eggs, and that’s one of a few unexplained things starting to happen.
Similarly, she believes she’s seen a plane crash, and at other times, hearing a particular tune everywhere, but no-one else appears to back her up on this. Are these events really happening, or is she just hallucinating?
Leading the Victory Project is Frank (Chris Pine), husband of Shelley (Gemma Chan), but is he enigmatic or creepy? And with all the earthquakes taking place, what exactly are all the men working on? Either way, his voice provides the house automation narration, spreading superfluous positive messages.
Director Olivia Wilde also gives herself a starring role as housewife Bunny, and her story will be told in due course. It was more well-rounded than most of what’s in this.
Overall, Don’t Worry Darling is less than the sum of its parts. It’s a bit of a mess, but it’s engaging, and takes too long to provide any answers. In fact, it largely feels all setup and little to no payoff… like a 3hr film that’s missing the last hour as it just ends when you should be getting answers. Very lazy.
As for the audience, there was no separate front section of seating in the auditorium I was in, sadly, so I was in row C, I think, and on the aisle. 3 young women came and sat not quite behind me, but starting 2 seats to my right. At first they were fine… until they started putting their feet up on the top of the backs of the chairs. I could tell because their feet PONGED! I could’ve said something, but it was only occasionally, and I know if I’d said something, they would’ve done it even more.
Additionally, a group of four people came in… ONE HOUR INTO THE FILM! What on Earth? I remember seeing a family come in, 30 minutes into The Fifth Element at Manchester Showcase in 1997, but this bunch beat that by a mile!
Don’t Worry Darling is in cinemas now, and is available to pre-order on 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD, with the release date not yet known.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 123 minutes
Release date: September 23rd 2022
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Format: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW (4.5K), Dolby Vision)
Cinema: Cineworld Didsbury
Rating: 7/10
Director: Olivia Wilde
Producers: Roy Lee, Katie Silberman, Olivia Wilde, Miri Yoon
Screenplay: Katie Silberman
Story: Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke
Music: John Powell
Cast:
Alice: Florence Pugh
Jack: Harry Styles
Frank: Chris Pine
Bunny: Olivia Wilde
Margaret: KiKi Layne
Shelley: Gemma Chan
Dean: Nick Kroll
Violet: Sydney Chandler
Peg: Kate Berlant
Peter: Asif Ali
Bill: Douglas Smith
Dr. Collins: Timothy Simons
Ted: Ari’el Stachel
Trolley Bus Driver: Steve Berg
Rosie: Daisy Sudeikis
Fred: Marcello Julian Reyes
Smiling Tennis Model: Monroe Cline
Bathing Suit Model: Angel Mammoliti
Ball Gown Model: Nataly Alexis Santiago
Frank & Shelley’s Kid: Daniel Nishio
Attending Physician: Kurt Scholler
Herself: Dita Von Teese
Maitre’D: Dimitri Dimitrov
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.