Don't Worry Darling

At the end of September, Don't Worry Darling was released into theaters. Don't Worry Darling follows 1950's housewife Alice (Florence Pugh) living with her husband Jack (Harry Styles) in an experimental utopian community. When strange things begin to occur, Alice begins to worry that her husband's mysterious company may not be what they seem. The premise of this movie seemed really intriguing to me. With the emergence of the behind-the-scenes along with this being the film debut of Harry Styles, I was really interested to see how this movie was going to turn out.

The movie does quite a few things very well. Florence Pugh is the stand out in this movie and plays her character very well in the film. It is really interesting to see how different all her characters are in each of her movies with this role being so different than all of the rest. She is also able to show off a wide range of emotions and is really able to show off her acting ability. Overall, this movie really shows that she is one of the best young actresses today. Aside from Florence Pugh, Chris Pine is also really good in this film. He can pull off the mysterious creepy guy so well while still allowing his character to exude confidence. He and Florence Pugh are definitely the two standouts of the film. The film also does a good job of building intrigue throughout the film. Right from the beginning, you can tell something isn't quite right and the intrigue and suspense just build until the climax. The setting of the film is also really interesting. It is fun to see a movie set in 1950s suburbia and all the cultural aspects that come with it. The setting is pulled off really well and also really helps build the intrigue.

Unfortunately, while this movie does have some really strong points, it also has some pretty low lows. One of the issues with the film is that Harry Styles is horribly miscast in this film. I went in skeptical of Harry Styles as an actor and hoped this movie would prove me wrong. Unfortunately, that was not the cast. The role really needed an actor with a high level of skill and Harry Styles just doesn't have the experience yet. He is very monotoned as an actor and doesn't add much of an emotional range to his roles. Along with that, he really doesn't have any chemistry with Florence Pugh and really makes her do all the heaving lifting acting-wise in their scenes. The film also really drags in the 2nd act with a lot of extra padding that feels like it is there just to make the runtime longer. However, the biggest issue with the film is that it really falls apart in the third act of the film. The final twist doesn't really seem as big as the movie made it out to be and the actual ending just seems so rushed and abrupt. There are also a lot of things that are set up throughout the film that are still unresolved by the end of the film and actions at the end of the film that just happen with no explanation as to why.

Overall, the film has an interesting premise with a really good lead actress but the ending just doesn't work and really doesn't reach the ambitions that the film was going for.

Grade: C+ Score:6/10 Recommendation: Wait to stream it

R-Rating Disclaimer: This movie is rated R for Language, Violence and some sexual images. However, all of those components are very tame, only 7 F-bombs and no nudity, so it could be handled by someone bothered by language, violence or sexual images.