Cindy Prascik's Review of Don't Worry Darling

 

My dear reader(s), this week I was able to catch up with one of the year's most talked-about movies, Don't Worry Darling.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

A woman begins to suspect her perfect community is not all it seems.

Don't Worry Darling is a passable thriller victimized by a disastrous publicity campaign. The story is nothing very new or surprising, but the movie maintains tension well enough and is blessed with an eminently watchable cast, led by the always stellar Florence Pugh. Of course, It's Harry Styles who drew me to the film (not usually the sort of thing that would interest me) and yet again I'll give him credit for being good enough that I wasn't thinking of him as Harry Styles (TM) while watching. (To qualify this achievement: I'm *always* thinking of Harry Styles.) The rest of the supporting cast - featuring Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Kiki Layne, and director Olivia Wilde - is solid, with special mention to Chris Pine, who plays sinister exceedingly well for such a benignly handsome dude. Don't Worry Darling keeps a nice place, is creepy throughout (though not always in the way it means to be), and features a terrific soundtrack filled with some great oldies. If the last act feels a bit contrived, for the most part it's still an enjoyable but forgettable thriller.

Don't Worry Darling clocks in at 123 minutes and is rated R for "sexuality, violent content, and language."

Don't Worry Darling is a decent thriller that undoubtedly would have fared better had it kept its drama onscreen. Of a possible nine Weasleys, Don't Worry Darling gets five.

Don't Worry Darling is now playing on the HBO family of channels, and streaming on HBO Max.

Until next time...

Cindy Prascik's Review My Policeman

 

My dear reader(s), yesterday I finished up (maybe?) vacation with my most anticipated film of the year, My Policeman.

Spoiler level here will be mild, nothing you wouldn't know from the trailers.

In 1950s England, where homosexuality is illegal, a museum curator and a policeman fall in love.

My Policeman tells the story of forbidden love between Patrick (David Dawson/Rupert Everett) and Tom (Harry Styles/Linus Roche). The movie effortlessly flows among personal perspectives and time periods (the events of the 50s, and the individuals' lives and reflections some 40 years later). Every member of the cast is fantastic, with special kudos to Roche and Everett, who carry the heaviest bit of the emotional load. If you're wondering about Harry Styles, whose name is the one above the title, he's so good I didn't think of him as Harry at all while watching. (Harry Styles occupies approximately 95% of my brain, so kindly respect how terrific he had to be to achieve that.) The story is mature and deliberately paced, and the principals' influences and motivations are portrayed with painful nuance. There's no hint of sensationalism or of capitalizing on Styles' "other" career here. Rather, you get a feeling that all involved understood the weight they carried in telling this tale, and writing, performances, and even promotion show how seriously they took that responsibility. In these frightening times, when the world often seems to be moving backwards, My Policeman offers a somber and timely reminder of the cost of bigotry and hate.

My Policeman clocks in at 113 minutes and is rated R for sexual content.

My Policeman is a story of heartbreak and hope, well crafted and beautifully acted. Of a possible nine Weasleys, My Policeman gets eight and a half.

My Policeman continues to play in select theatres, and is now streaming worldwide on Amazon Prime.

Until next time...

MOVIE REVIEW: DON'T WORRY DARLING

 

A 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets.

Director: Olivia Wilde

Cast: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, Chris Pine

Release Date: September 23, 2022

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

Rated R for sexuality, violent content and language

Runtime: 2h 2m

Review:

Olivia Wilde's Don't Worry Darling, which has been mired in offscreen drama before its release, is glossy, intriguing in parts, but ultimately little more than a rehash of well-worn tropes.  Wilde, for her part, delivers well-constructed shots which take advantage of the gorgeous sets and wardrobing on display intercut with some cinematic tricks to give it all an unsettling feel.  Unfortunately, there is a lack of subtly right from the start which kills the majority of tension from the central mystery.  That's not to say there aren't twist and turns throughout its overlong runtime but it never takes the material into new thematic territory.  The film's saving grace is Florence Pugh who carries the film with a committed and engaging turn as a wife who feels the walls of reality closing in on her, sometimes literally.  Pugh's authenticity shines through here making you care about her character even though the endgame is fairly obvious.  She's always the most interesting person onscreen especially the script doesn't bother to give any of the supporting characters much depth if any.  Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll and Chris Pine are saddled with one note characters since the film seems content with them serving as nothing more than high end eye candy.  Populating a film with this much talent only to let it go to waste is a huge miss for the film since it could have added far more nuance to its story especially in its increasingly nonsensical final act.  Don't Worry Darling may feel fresh to people unfamiliar with its cinematic forebears like The Stepford Wives, The Truman Show, Pleasantville or Dark City but if you are then it's nothing more than a hollow rehash.  

C+