Don't Worry Darling

Take away the drama and the spectacle behind the scenes, this movie is extremely well done. Olivia Wilde truly deserves all of the praise for this film, her directing style and sense of aesthetics really come to light in this film. This script is originally written by Dick Van Dyke's grandkids and was adapted by Wilde's writer from Booksmart and I think these two women are a powerhouse together and don't let you forget it. Matthew Libatique's cinematography throughout this film is one of pure aesthetic and crafted perfectly for the setting of Palm Springs. The sound design and score work like magic in this film and really help guide the pacing and the mental state of Alice (Florence Pugh) throughout the film. Florence Pugh is remarkable as always, easily one of her career's best for her so far. This woman makes playing extreme and broken emotions so easily, it puts everyone to shame sometimes. Her body language is what impresses me every time I see her on screen. Her chemistry with Harry is so fun; they do very well on screen together. For his second time on screen, Harry does a fine job, I enjoyed watching his natural charm shine. Is it Oscar-winning? Not at all. And that's okay, I think him clearly being an amateur works well with the nature of his character (especially when he's in the same room as Chris). Chris Pine...the things I could say about this man. This man has been waiting to play a villain and he shows out like never before. Giving off an Ethan Hawke-eqsue performance, he commands the room every time he walks in. Florence and Chris are a sight to watch as they fight for dominance when they enter the room with each other. Aside from Florence, he and Gemma Chan are my absolute favorite performances and they prove it, especially during the "Dinner" scene. I wish there was so much more of Gemma in this film. Now for some things, I didn't like; this film moves at a weird pace, a little too fast but somehow also slow and we spend 80% of the movie watching Florence Pugh asking the same question in 100 different ways. I think certain timing of scenes is a little choppy. If time was an issue for production, I think they could've really benefitted from taking some scenes out and replacing them with genuine explanations about the lead-up to Florence's questioning. Kiki Layne plays the obvious whistleblower and she's only in the movie for all of 4 minutes at most (eye-twitch). Florence and Harry are truly the only ones who receive genuine screen time (obviously) enough for us to understand how we got to this point, even Chris Pine's character doesn't receive much "story" when his' may be the most exciting to hear. Everyone else in this cast is great, but very underutilized, especially in the 3rd act. I almost wish this movie was more...disturbing... Overall, you will either watch this movie and have no idea that the plot twist is coming or see it from a mile away, either way, it's nothing we haven't seen before but it sure is so much fun when you figure it out. Don't listen to the film snobs and the girlfriend haters when you see this movie. This is extremely entertaining, go watch it in IMAX! It is for certain..a movie that feels...like a movie.