My Take On: Don’t Worry Darling
By Sorcha Lynch
Don’t Worry Darling, 2022. (Film Still)
Wilde is an objectively talented director, and perhaps we need to ask ourselves if this discourse would still be going on if her name was Tarantino.
Now, listen. I understand why everyone either wants to wholeheartedly adore this film, or completely detest it. Harry Styles seems to have that effect on people.
To quote the man himself, this movie really did feel like a movie. The pristine haircuts, shiny houses, and snippy dialogue set up this perfect world that, in the first few minutes, revealed to the audience that it may not be all that it seems.
It’s a combination of Wanda Vision, Get Out, incel culture, and meta verse fears. It’s a ‘can't-look-at-your-boyfriend-the-same' kind of movie, and where some parts left me feeling unfulfilled, the food shots made up for it. I went home dreaming of bacon and eggs for breakfast, and I'm a vegetarian.
But I, like many others, didn’t just watch Don’t Worry Darling in hopes of having an alcohol-free evening to break up freshers, or to ogle at the incredible Florence Pugh, or Harry Styles (or both). I wanted to find out if all of the noise surrounding the film's production held any weight.
Despite Director Olivia Wilde’s great achievements with her first movie Booksmart, there were many doubts surrounding her ability to make Don’t Worry Darling a success. This could largely come from the fact that she began a relationship with Harry Styles during filming and, though I would consider myself one of them, his fan base can be quite possessive. There were also rumours of a pay disparity between Styles and Pugh, which has since been shut down, with many other unverified incidents that one scroll through TikTok will fill you in on.
Don’t Worry Darling, 2022. (Film Still)
If we look past the obvious jealousy some people have for Wilde, it can't be ignored that she is a largely critiqued minority in Hollywood; a female director. In an interview with Variety, Wilde discusses the difficulties of being taken seriously, or even given a chance, as a woman in film. She also explains the importance of depicting female sexual pleasure in this movie, and how it is central to the story, which is set in an idyllic world, or idyllic as defined by ‘the largely monogamous, misogynistic media and world we’ve grown up in.’ A world, which she goes on to explain, assumes the worst of women and flourishes in pitting successful women against each other in order to shame them. A statement which perfectly describes how she has been pitted against Florence Pugh by the media, who have also painted Wilde as incredibly unprofessional, self-obsessed, and even a bad mother.
Wilde is an objectively talented director, and perhaps we need to ask ourselves if this discourse would still be going on if her name was Tarantino. I have to admit, the video that was released post a Variety interview of Wilde condescendingly referring to her lead actor as ‘Miss Flo' did not paint her in a great light. But maybe a forty-second clip taken out of context by an actor who has clear animosity towards Wilde isn't the most accurate source? Not to mention the fact that said actor is Shia LaBeouf, a man who has been accused of being an abusive boyfriend and has recently admitted to fabricating his own abusive relationship with his father.
I’m not sure about you, but I think it is fair to say that while there may be some truth to the rumours surrounding the production of Don’t Worry Darling, certain preconceived notions about the people involved have definitely added fuel to the fire. I cannot help but see the irony in a film with such a strong feminist agenda, clouded by drama in the form of sexual politics. Maybe Wilde is right, and the public has just done what our culture seems to feed on; pit two talented women against each other and grab a bag of popcorn in anticipation of their downfall.
But then again, Olivia Wilde did make me sit through an unnecessarily long, second-hand-embarrassment evoking scene of Harry Styles tap dancing, so maybe she is the devil the internet has made her out to be.
