The MovieMantz Review: “Don’t Worry Darling”

Nothing is at it seems in the town of Victory, an isolated utopian enclave that’s populated with happily married families, quaint houses, candy-colored classic cars and a cult-like leader who’s pulling the strings with a sly smile. The setting become increasingly unsettling to Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh), a housewife who is haunted by nightmarish visions while dealing with the neglect of her company-man husband (Harry Styles), who is on the rise at the Victory Project.

It’s an effectively suspenseful set up to “Don’t Worry Darling,” the highly-stylized psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde as her follow-up to her exhilarating debut, 2019’s “Booksmart.” It’s a bold leap for Wilde to take with only her second film, but despite featuring a “Stepford Wives”-inspired premise, exquisite cinematography (from Matthew Libatique), mid-century modern production design (by Katie Byron) and a superb performance from Florence Pugh, “Don’t Worry Darling” loses its grip before unraveling in a spectacular fashion with a payoff that doesn’t stick the landing.

In terms of being a stranger in a strange land – one with creepy, sinister underpinnings that reveal themselves when it’s too late – Pugh has been down this road before with much greater success in 2019’s “Midsommar,” director Ari Astor’s moody, atmospheric and downright disturbing thriller that tightens the screws with each passing scene until it concludes with a shocking, haunting and unforgettable finale.

“Don’t Worry Darling” certainly starts strong, but then it goes in the opposite direction when it comes to setting an effective mood, tightening its grip and holding your attention. Much of that has to do with numerous contrivances that only serve to bring up more questions that the film is able to answer in any satisfying fashion. Instead of building to a crescendo, the film falls flat as a patience-testing exercise that goes off the rails in the final act.

But “Don’t Worry Darling” has its merits. In addition to the aforementioned production values and Pugh’s committed performance, Chris Pine is terrifically sinister as the sleazy leader of the Victory Project. Singer-turned-actor Harry Styles is passable enough as Pugh’s working-man husband, even if he lacks the cinematic gravitas to match Pugh’s performance.

In recent months, “Don’t Worry Darling” made headlines for reasons that had nothing to do with the actual movie, starting back in April, when Wilde was served on stage at CinemaCon while giving a presentation about the film, and then more recently at the Venice Film Festival, where Wilde and Pugh practically ignored each other. I was really hoping the film would be strong enough to bring good attention back to the movie itself, but it would seem that I had reason to worry after all.