Breaking Down “Don’t Worry Darling”

Have you ever thought that your existence, that all of reality, was just a simulation? Ever questioned what is truly real and what is truly fake? Multiple films and shows have utilized this topic and executed it perfectly or failed trying. Many would confidently say that “Don’t Worry Darling” leans more towards the “failed trying” category.  

“Don’t Worry Darling” stars Florence Pugh as Alice Chamber and Harry Styles as Jack Chambers, both as a “picture-perfect 1950’s” couple. The film was directed by Olivia Wilde, with a screenplay by Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke, and Silberman. Despite all the negative feedback, controversies, and production issues, “Don’t Worry Darling” did not disappoint at the box office and earned a whopping $19.2 million domestically, snatching the top spot across theatrical releases nationwide.  

The movie tries to take on a new and different approach to the “simulation” genre but, unfortunately, does not hit the mark very well. Although, it’s filled to the brim with twists, dramatic moments, and mysteries that slowly seep into different characters while also slowly trying to keep the viewer on their toes for the big final twist. It has a very intriguing and exciting storyline, but it fails to explain itself effectively and, in the end, leaves you with more questions than you began with. “Don’t Worry Darling” is about 2 hours and 2 minutes of a slow-burning mystery unraveling.  

“Don’t Worry Darling” takes place during the 1950s in America. Alice and Jack Chambers live in a utopian society in an idyllic neighborhood of Victory, California, a company town. Every day, the husbands go to work at Victory Headquarters out in the surrounding desert, while their wives stay home to clean, relax, and prepare dinner for their husbands. The wives are discouraged from asking any questions about their husband’s duties and jobs and are told not to venture out or explore the Headquarters.  

As the film continues, Alice notices many unexplainable and terrifying events happening around her, like a mysterious biplane crashing out in the desert or running into a peculiar small building covered in mirror-like windows, which she later finds out is Victory Headquarters. After touching a window at Headquarters, she begins to experience surreal hallucinations before waking up back home later that night. As time passes by, she proceeds to experience even more unexplainable and terrifying occurrences.  

Everyone around Alice invalidates or doesn’t even listen to her severe paranoia or feelings. At some point, her peers attempt to get a town physician, Dr. Collins, played by Timothy Simons, to give Alice prescription drugs in order to silence her worries. Jack even begins to dismiss Alice’s mental breakdowns. Sometime later, Alice and Jack decide to invite the rest of the neighborhood to dinner, with Frank, played by Chris Pine, and his lovely wife, Shelley, played by Gemma Chan, as special guests. Frank speaks privately with Alice in the kitchen, insinuating that she is right in her suspicions. Spurred by his sudden confession, she attempts to expose him over dinner. Instead, Frank gaslights her, making her look even more delusional to the other guests. In the aftermath, Alice desperately begs Jack to take them away from Victory. Jack initially agrees, but when Alice gets in the car, he lets her get taken away by Frank’s men. Dr. Collins forces Alice to undergo electroshock therapy. During the procedure, she sees strange visions of herself in another life, as a present-day surgeon named Alice Warren, who lives with an unemployed, deadbeat husband, Jack, and struggles to make ends meet.  

Alice later returns to Victory and reunites with Jack but continues to go through many different hallucinations and flashbacks. She later remembers the entire shocking truth. Victory is a simulated world created by Frank, and Jack has forced her into the simulation in hopes that they can live a perfect life together. When Jack realizes she knows the truth, he claims he did this for her as she was miserable in real life, but Alice is enraged. Jack hugs Alice, begging her to forgive him, then attempts to strangle her. Alice kills him with a glass tumbler, destroying his consciousness in the process.  

Frank is alerted about Jack’s death and sends his men to capture her. Alice is told to flee to Headquarters by her best friend Bunny, played by Olivia Wilde. The latter also knows that the Victory Project is a simulation, which turns out to be an exit portal from the simulation. The other wives begin to realize the truth as well, while all their husbands begin to panic deeply. Alice drives Jack’s car towards Headquarters, chased by Dr. Collins and Frank’s men, who eventually crash into each other. At Frank and Shelley’s house, Shelley, having had enough of Frank’s abuse, stabs him to death. When Alice finally makes it to Headquarters, she sees Jack asking her to stay. She’s able to ignore the vision successfully and rushes to the window just before Frank’s men reach her. The sound of Alice gasping and struggling to catch her breath is heard.  

Not only was there plenty of drama in the movie but there was also plenty of drama before and during filming. Olivia Wilde had many feuds and arguments and even reported: “screaming matches” with her fellow actors, specifically Florence Pugh. These feuds involved the well-known actor Shia LaBeouf who was originally going to play the character Jack Chambers until he was supposedly fired by Wilde due to “poor behavior and clashing with the cast and crew.” However, LaBeouf denied these claims and stated that he quit the film despite Wilde’s efforts to keep him onboard. As of right now, no answers have been revealed, but all that is known is that the two individuals did not meet eye-to-eye. They had too many differences and struggled to work together, which also led some people to believe that it hurt the movie’s value in the end.  

Many can agree that if it weren’t for all the familiar faces, juicy drama during production, which gained a lot of attention, and Florence Pugh’s astonishing talent, “Don’t Worry Darling,” would have been a major disaster. As stated before, the premise is a fascinating take on the “simulation” genre, but unfortunately, Olivia Wilde did not give much to the audience. Even though it is not a truly awful movie, it is still needed a lot more work done. Many would also agree that this film failed to focus on the actual characters and plotline and instead focused on making such a big deal that artists such as Harry Styles would star during the movie’s press.