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Don’t Worry Darling – Film Review

Cast: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, Chris Pine

Director: Olivia Wilde

Synopsis: A housewife living in an idyllic neighbourhood in the 1950s with her husband begins to suspect not everything is as it appears to be in their perfect community…

Review: It is always interesting to see what happens when an actor opts to move from in front of the camera to try their hands at directing. In the case of Olivia Wilde, her directorial debut Booksmart proved to be an uproarious comedy which explored what happens when two studious high school students opt to swap their books for one night of raucous partying. Unfortunately in the run-up to the release of her sophomore feature, much has been made of the reported drama that has seemingly plagued the film in the build-up to its release. From reported arguments between cast members during the production, reported arguments between cast members, and even more drama during its premiere at the Venice Film Festival which has all cast a very large shadow over the project. With this in mind, one would have hoped all the drama would fade into the background had Wilde followed up her wonderful directorial debut with another roaring success. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite live up to that billing.

In 1950s America, in the picturesque but isolated neighbourhood of Victory, lives Alice (Pugh) and her husband Jack (Styles). In this community, while all the men go off to work on their mysterious jobs during the day, overseen by Frank (Pine), all of the women are expected to be at home doing chores enjoying all of the comforts the community of Victory has to offer. While at night, the couples mingle and throw lavish parties. However, Alice soon begins to experience strange events which lead her to question her existence in this community and suspect something may be amiss with their idyllic lives.

Without any question of a doubt, the greatest asset of the movie is another incredible performance from Florence Pugh. An actor who continues to demonstrate every time she’s on-screen why she is one of the most popular, and best, actors working today. She commits everything to her performance and we watch how this seemingly perfect lifestyle, where she has everything she could possibly want, slowly begins to crumble around her. It leads her down a dark and disturbing path where she soon starts to question everything, including what it is that Jack and all of the other men are really doing at Victory HQ, leading some of the other residents of Victory to dismiss her as paranoid and delusional. After his incredible debut performance in Dunkirk, Harry Styles had the unenviable task of acting alongside his talented co-star. While he can’t quite make up his mind about his character’s accent, he does a solid enough job and has decent chemistry with his co-star, but Pugh outshines him, and everyone else. Furthermore, aside from a rather menacing turn from Chris Pine as the leader of this community, the rest of the cast is severely underutilised, particularly Gemma Chan and KiKi Layne.

Matthew Libatique’s superb cinematography expertly juxtaposes the sun-drenched tranquillity of Victory with the dark and sinister imagery of burlesque dancers hinting at something deeply sinister at the heart of this community. Wilde steps up her game as a directing and brings a unique visual flair to this contrasting imagery, while she also delivers some pulsating chase sequences in the third act. However, what ultimately really lets the film down is its severely lacklustre script. Reteaming with Katie Silberman, one of the co-writers of Booksmart, it starts on a strong footing as it maintains the intrigue as Alice begins to investigate what is really happening in this perceived utopia these people find themselves. Furthermore, the unnerving score from John Powell maintains the suspense as some rather disturbing truths soon come to light. Without getting into spoiler territory, the film’s exploration of pertinent themes, namely the patriarchal nature of society and the male gaze is to be commended. Unfortunately, once certain details about the world of Victory and its inhabitants have come to light in the third act, the reveals are wholly unsatisfying as they fail to fully develop and expand on them. It all amounts to sheer frustration that by the time the credits begin to roll, the audience is left with more questions than answers.

Despite these shortcomings, Wilde cannot be faulted for her bravery in following up her extremely successful directorial debut with an ambitious sophomore effort which reinforces her as a director to keep an eye on. It is ultimately a real disappointment given the scope of the project and the talent in front of and behind the camera, that potential has frittered away by the time the credits begin to roll. A real shame, darling.

Despite a premise bursting with ideas and promise, not even a stellar performance from Pugh can prevent Wilde’s follow-up to her brilliant directorial debut from failing to capitalise on its vast potential.

Booksmart – Film Review

Cast: Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever, Jessica Williams, Billie Lourd, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Jason Sudeikis

Director: Olivia Wilde

Synopsis: Two high school students who’ve shone academically realise they have missed out on some major high school/teenager shenanigans. On the last night before graduation, they decide to go out of high school with a bang…

Review: In many ways, high school/secondary school is the place where we really start to grow up, the place where we slowly start to make that steady transition from childhood to adulthood. We undertake some important exams that can potentially shape the rest of our lives. Whilst simultaneously, it’s a time when we usually start going out, partying and with any luck, making long-lasting friendships and relationships. Some may choose to party too hard, some may get the balance right, and some may work too hard and not party enough.

Best friends Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) are most definitely the latter. They have spent their time very much concentrated on the academic side of high school, with the focus of attaining a place in a top-class college. However, as they prepare to graduate, it dawns on them that their focus on their academic work has been so razor sharp that they have missed out on several years’ worth of partying and letting their hair down. Desperate to rectify this mistake, they realise that they must use the last night before graduation as their chance to cram as much partying and raucous behaviour into one night as they possibly can.

Putting a refreshing and wholly unique take on the high school sex comedy/drama is by no means an easy challenge. However, for her directorial debut, Olivia Wilde does exactly that. Having women front and centre, both in front of and behind the camera, definitely plays a massive part in ensuring this film stands out from the crowd. As the leading ladies, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever both give terrific lead performances. These two bounce off each other’s personalities to wonderful and hilarious effect. Their interaction and chemistry on screen is so warm and fuzzy that they feel like fully fleshed-out people. Right from the moment you meet them, they genuinely feel as though they have been friends for years.

Feldstein, who arguably stole the show with a wonderful comedic performance in Lady Bird, maintains that wonderful level of humour in a role that really gives her the chance to shine. She comes across as a bit aloof and snobby to the other students, but there is a warmth and sincerity to her, as well as a brilliant sense of humour. By contrast, Dever, as Amy, is a much more withdrawn individual. She carefully chooses the right moments, when she is not with Molly, to come out of her shell. Both have rich layers to them, so much so that there will almost certainly be people out there who will relate to them in some capacity, whether it be the desire to place emphasis on those hours of studying or being slightly withdrawn when it comes to social interaction, or perhaps even both.

Look at these pesky up-to-no-good troublemakers….

Alongside Wilde in the director’s chair, the film’s female team of writers (Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel & Katie Silberman) pen a fantastically witty script full of some downright hilarious and truly brilliant jokes. There are one or two jokes that don’t quite hit their mark, but the rest are just fantastic and extremely unique in terms of the delivery and the punchlines. Try as we might, those high school years are not a constant barrel of laughs, there will be times when some drama unfolds. Wilde’s excellent direction and the sincere performances from every member of this cast ensure that this is captured in such an honest and authentic manner. It just goes to show that when you do your homework, as the cast and crew most certainly did, it will pay tremendous dividends. Top marks all around.

Hilarious and heartfelt, with very sincere and genuine performances, a wonderfully refreshing take on the teen drama/high school coming-of-age comedy.