Don't Worry Darling Footage Reaction: Olivia Wilde's New Movie Looks Strange, Deranged, And Pretty Darn Great [CinemaCon 2022]
After Olivia Wilde worked her directorial magic with "Booksmart," her sophomore feature was destined to be a source of excitement. The sharp coming-of-age tale was a breath of fresh air and skillfully helmed by Wilde — and although her second time in the director's seat veers away from the buddy-comedy route, that certainly hasn't dissuaded the buzz. "Don't Worry Darling" is one of the most anticipated films of the year, promising Wilde's return while spotlighting two of our most magnetic performers: Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. While Pugh has been proving herself as one of the best and brightest actors of her generation, Styles has been crossing over from pop sensation to an actor on the rise. And these two are just a fraction of the star power that "Don't Worry Darling" promises; the film features an absolutely stacked cast, including Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Sydney Chandler, and Nick Kroll.
So what's the story that Wilde chose as a follow-up to her breakthrough feature? Details for 'Don't Worry Darling" have been pretty tight-lipped, but Wilde described it to Vogue as "'The Feminine Mystique' on acid." The 1950s-set period piece is a psychological thriller by way of "Fatal Attraction" and "Indecent Proposal," grappling with the questions like, "What are you willing to sacrifice in order to do what's right?" and "Are you willing to blow up the system that serves you?"
With Wilde guiding the way and a deliciously intriguing premise for these star performers to play with, it's hard not to ache for a closer look at the film. Thus far, everything from actual footage to the plot has been kept under wraps. Up until now, the most we've glimpsed is a brief teaser trailer that explained very little while giving us plenty to get hyped about. But this week's CinemaCon comes bearing gifts, including sneak peeks at some of the most exciting films coming soon. Unfortunately, we can't cram all the cinephiles into a single Las Vegas screening room but that's why /Film was on the ground, scoping out the footage! You can check out his reaction to new footage of "Don't Worry Darling" below.
Don't Worry Darling reaction
Director Olivia Wilde took to the stage to introduce the trailer, calling the film a "psychological thriller" inspired by "Inception," "The Matrix," and "The Truman Show," which is a pretty great lineup. She praised the cast, particularly Florence Pugh, which is no surprise. Matthew Libatique is the cinematographer for the film, and he's worked on some bangers including "Requiem for a Dream," "A Star is Born," and "Mother!" We've got Arianne Phillips, the costume designer for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," a score from John Powell ("The Bourne Ultimatum," "Solo: A Star Wars Story"), and a trailer that Wilde called, "thrilling, beautiful, equally challenging, and above all else, fun." She told the crowd that she's been working on the trailer for months, and it reportedly looks great!
In the trailer footage shown, we see Pugh's character at a party in a living room with her friends, who are all dancing with trays on their heads, balancing drinks on top of them. Their significant others are watching them, cheering them on. Then we cut to Styles' character and Pugh's in bed. They say, "You and me. "Always you and me."
We cut to a montage of a 1950s housewife doing domestic chores, and then to Chris Pine, who wants to "change the world." He appears to be a cult leader of some sort. Wilde's character says, "The one thing they ask of us is to stay here where it's safe." There is clearly a delineation between the men and the women here, something that was certainly true in that era in America.
We see the men go off to do something mysterious as the women stay home. Pugh's character is beginning to ask questions of Pine's character, and no cult leader (if that's what he is) ever likes that. He certainly doesn't. "They're lying about everything," Pugh's character says, as Pine's character looks deranged, in a great way. Later, Pugh's character has plastic wrapped around her face in the next shot, then we see her in a bathtub, sinking under the water. Then it gets even creepier as we see the mirror next to the bathtub, and her reflection does not sink!
New Line has yet to release an official synopsis but here's how "Don't Worry Darling" has previously been described:
A 1950's housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community begins to worry that his glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.
The screenplay was rewritten by Katie Silberman ("Set It Up," "Isn't It Romantic," "Booksmart") from an earlier spec script by screenwriting duo Shane and Carey Van Dyke ("Chernobyl Diaries, "The Sacred," "The Silence").
"Don't Worry Darling" will debut exclusively in theaters on September 23, 2022.