By Ali Gue

For horror fanatics, the thought of Midsommar’s Florence Pugh gracing the screen in a thrilling film once more was exciting. Then, there were fans of Harry Styles who were more than happy to see their favorite pop star flexing his acting skills. 

Unfortunately, the heated drama behind the scenes was released far earlier than the movie. With viewers taking the drama to heart, it was hard to separate the actors from their characters. For example, Don’t Worry Darling currently has a 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, a trusted website filled with critic reviews. The question is, how many of those reviews should be trusted after such a brutal start to the film’s release?

Watching the movie was not an unsatisfactory experience by any means. There was a good balance between plot-driving content versus “WTF?!!!!” content. 

Florence Pugh was in her element as she navigated scenes filled with heavy emotion as a housewife named Alice. You could feel the pain she was undergoing at any given moment, and you couldn’t help but feel your stomach drop as she faced mind-boggling realizations. This was another job well done for the actress, and she rocked every second of her screen time.

Harry Styles did not falter in his portrayal as a clever yet mysterious man known as Jack. His character’s nature at the beginning of the film intensified the plot twist toward the end of the movie. Styles may still be searching for his acting prowess at the end of the day, but his efforts should not go unnoticed in Don’t Worry Darling. It was a good performance and shows promise for future roles. 

Other actors such as Nick Kroll, Olivia Wilde, and Gemma Chan worked well as engaging supporting characters. It was easy to fall into their background stories, and it inevitably left a feeling of wanting something more. 

The same can be said for Chris Pine’s wonderful portrayal of the man named Frank. He was sexy, intelligent, and seemingly perfect to the community members there were part of his experimental society. Every time he appeared, it made you question what would happen next. Yet, there was the potential for something greater. What could he have done with just a little more screen time? 

The same question can be applied to Kiki Layne who plays Margaret. We receive mere glimpses of her character throughout the film but no true background. It seems a bit odd that we do not get to see or know more about an individual that is mentioned so frequently.

Overall, the movie was genuinely quite good. The plot is admittedly similar to Jordan Peele’s Get Out with its mind-manipulation and disturbing depictions of a “utopia,” but it explores the topic of gender rather than race. If Don’t Worry Darling contained more originality, it’d be golden. But for now, it’s safe to say that the film was far from bad. 

If you’re interested, you can watch Don’t Worry Darling now at theaters near you.