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Don't Worry Darling
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Wikipedia article
'Don't Worry Darling' is a 2022 American psychological thriller film directed by Olivia Wilde from a screenplay by Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. The film stars Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, and Chris Pine.
Following the critical success of Wilde's directorial debut 'Booksmart' (2019), a multi-studio bidding war took place for the rights of her second film, with New Line Cinema eventually winning. Pugh joined the cast in April 2020, with Styles being added that September, replacing Shia LaBeouf. Filming began in Los Angeles in October, lasting through February 2021. The film's reportedly troubled production was the subject of media attention and controversy, including conflicting reports regarding the circumstances of LaBeouf's departure and alleged conflicts between Wilde and Pugh.
'Don't Worry Darling' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2022, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on September 23, 2022, by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film received mixed reviews from critics, who praised Pugh's performance, Powells music, and the production design, but criticized the screenplay and Styles' performance.
Premise
Alice and Jack Chambers are a young, happy couple in the 1950s, living in the seemingly perfect company town of Victory, California, which has been created and paid for by the mysterious company for which Jack works. Curiosity about the nature of her husband's work on the secret "Victory Project" begins to consume Alice. Cracks then begin to form in their utopian life as her investigation into the project raises tensions within the community.
Cast
Production
Development and writing
The film was announced in August 2019, after a bidding war amongst eighteen studios to acquire the next Olivia Wilde-directed project; New Line Cinema later won the auction. The original spec script was written by the brothers Carey and Shane Van Dyke; the screenplay appeared on the 2019 Black List. Katie Silberman was brought on to do a rewrite which became the film's screenplay. According to Wilde the sinister character Frank, was inspired by psychologist and author Jordan Peterson who she described as a "pseudo-intellectual hero to the incel community." Peterson rejected the characterization, calling it "the latest bit of propaganda disseminated by the woke, self-righteous bores and bullies who now dominate Hollywood."
Casting
In April 2020, Florence Pugh, Shia LaBeouf and Chris Pine were added to the cast of the film, with Dakota Johnson joining the next month. Wilde was originally set to play Pugh's part and Pugh was to play Wilde's, but they swapped roles when Wilde decided she wanted a younger couple at the center of the film. In September 2020, Harry Styles joined the cast of the film, replacing LaBeouf.In October 2020, Gemma Chan and KiKi Layne were added to the cast, with Layne replacing Johnson who dropped out due to a scheduling conflict with 'The Lost Daughter' (2021). That same month, Sydney Chandler, Nick Kroll, Douglas Smith, Kate Berlant, Asif Ali, Timothy Simons, and Ari'el Stachel joined the cast of the film.
Filming
in Palm Springs.Principal photography began in Los Angeles on October 26, 2020. It was temporarily halted for two weeks on November 4 after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19, which resulted in stars Pugh, Styles and Pine being quarantined. Filming wrapped on February 13, 2021. The film's original score was composed by John Powell.
The opening scene of the movie was filmed at The Kaufmann House, and was the first film to be shot at the home. Wilde was inspired by the house's architecture and hung a photograph of the house on her wall while she was working on the script of the film. She told 'Variety', "To be there was huge. To direct the first shot there felt like this really auspicious beginning to this movie which was this love letter not only to film, but to architecture, to design, to this era."
On-set conflicts
In 2021, it was reported that LaBeouf had been fired by Wilde over poor behavior and clashing with the cast and crew. Elaborating on this, Wilde stated that:However, LaBeouf refuted these claims in August 2022, stating that he quit the film despite Wilde's efforts to keep him onboard. He provided 'Variety' with evidence to support his claims, including a video recording from Wilde addressed to him, in which she states:
Following LaBeouf's statements, Wilde refuted his claims and stated once again that she fired him, telling 'Vanity Fair' that she fired him after Pugh expressed she was uncomfortable with LaBeouf's behavior, stating:
Wilde and Pugh allegedly clashed on set, leading to tensions during both production and promotion for the film. This included Pugh limiting the amount of promotion she would do for the film, including not attending the film's New York premiere, although scheduling conflicts with filming 'Dune: Part Two' have also been cited as a contributing factor.
Marketing
At the CinemaCon 2022 for the stage at Caesars Palace, Wilde confirmed that the idea of the film was inspired by 'Inception', 'The Matrix', and 'The Truman Show'. The trailer, which was also shown at CinemaCon, was released online on May 2, 2022. A teaser poster was released on June 16, 2022, and a second trailer was released on July 21, 2022.
David Christopherson of MovieWeb called the poster "unsettling" and writing on trailer, Valerie Ettenhofer of /Film said 'Don't Worry Darling' looks like a "full-blown horror movie," noting the mystery surrounding its plot and 'The Stepford Wives' overtones. The official release poster was released on August 11, 2022.
Release
'Don't Worry Darling' had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2022. Claims of Styles spitting on Pine during the Venice premiere based on videos recorded from inside the theatre (and thereby adding to the already rocky press tour mired by allegations of an falling out between Wilde and Pugh) were dismissed as "a ridiculous story" and "a complete fabrication" by Pine's representative. The film will also screen at the 48th Deauville American Film Festival and the 70th San Sebastin International Film Festival. It is scheduled to be theatrically released on September 23, 2022. It is eligible to become available on HBO Max and/or premium video on demand 45 days after its theatrical release, under a plan announced by WarnerMedia in 2021, though subsequent announcements by new parent company Warner Bros. Discovery suggest that streaming timing will be considered on a "case-by-case" basis going forward.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 38% based on 56 reviews, with an average of 5.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Despite an intriguing array of talent on either side of the camera, 'Don't Worry Darling' is a mostly muddled rehash of overly familiar themes." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews." Critics praised Pugh's performance, the cinematography, and the visual style, but found the overall film to not be satisfying. Rotten Tomatoes reported that Styles had "a debatably entertaining turn" and that reaction to the third act was divided.
Reviewing the film following its Venice premiere, Kate Erbland of 'IndieWire' praised the scenography and cast performances, particularly Pugh's, but found fault with the screenplay, summarizing: "Pugh's outstanding performance and the extraordinary below-the-line craftsmanship are all impeccably rendered, but they can't overcome the film's rotten core concept." In a mixed review for 'The A.V. Club', Tomris Laffly commended Pugh's performance but criticized the direction and found its handling of themes and ideas heavy-handed, writing "Perhaps the chief deficit of 'Don't Worry Darling' isn't even predictability, but a discernible lack of new ideas of its own." 'The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw called it a "movie marooned in a desert of unoriginality," criticizing the screenplay and direction. 'Vulture.com's Bilge Ebiri wrote that the film "is smooth, competent, (mostly) well-acted, and merely tedious." Phil de Semlyn of 'Time Out' opined that "Pugh saves this stylish but inert horror-thriller from disaster," with Richard Lawson of 'Vanity Fair' echoing these statements, describing Pugh "a commanding and centered actor who makes the most of the hash she's served."
Laffley of 'The A.V. Club' remarked that Styles "is no match for Pugh" while Bilge Ebiri of Vulture described him as "the weak link ... who is not without talent but who fails to give Jack the dimensionality or inner conflict the character clearly needs." Macnab of 'The Independent' criticized Styles' performance in the film, stating "Styles gives a surprisingly dull and low-wattage performance as Jack." Steph Green's review of the film for the BBC stated "Harry Styles doesn't feel up to the material here, with leaden line delivery and a lack of light and shade making his scenes opposite Pugh fall flat." Writing for 'TIME' magazine, Stephanie Zacharek opined that "Styles is cute, but a dud. Everything he does on-screen practically evaporates from one scene to the next." Scott Mendelson of Forbes argued that "Styles is as good as he needs to be" and that "some of the criticism of his performance has been more about the character than the actor." Helen O'Hara of 'Empire' described his performance as "solid" while Pete Hammond of Deadline wrote that Styles "shows he is the real deal as an actor and has great promise." Owen Gleiberman of 'Variety' opined that Jack is "played by Styles with a wholesome cunning that marks him as a natural screen actor" and that "with his popping eyes, floppy shock of hair, and saturnine suaveness, he recalls the young Frank Sinatra as an actor."
References
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