Don't Worry Darling

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Olivia Wilde directs. Matthew Libatique behind the camera. John Powell scores. Affonso Gonçalves cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Released 4 years ago.
• 2240+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
• 3Directed by Olivia Wilde, shot by Matthew Libatique. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 4Original score by John Powell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 5Editor Affonso Gonçalves shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 6Florence Pugh and Harry Styles and Chris Pine carry the top of the cast.
• 7Marketing tagline: "Are you ready to live the life you deserve?".
• 8IMDB entry: tt10731256 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 9Classified under 11 themes, including "suburbian idyll", "cult", "palm springs", "psychological thriller".
• 10Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Matthew Libatique

Original score

John Powell

Editing

Affonso Gonçalves

Production design

Katie Byron

Costume design

Arianne Phillips

Makeup / hair

Iman Newborn

VFX supervisor

Brendan Taylor

Sound

Lawrence Zipf

Stunt coordinator

Tracy Keehn-Dashnaw

Runtime

123 min · 2h 3m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$35,000,000

Box office

$86,700,000

Return

248% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

R

IMDB

Don't Worry Darling (2022) ↗

Also by

Olivia Wilde

• 
  The Invite

  2026 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Booksmart

  2019 · ★ 7.0
• 
  Wake Up

  2020 · ★ 5.9
• 
  Free Hugs

  2011 · ★ 5.2
• 
  Naughty

  2027

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

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Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Stop Her

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  They Silenced Her

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  We Could Lose This

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Creating Victory

  Behind the Scenes · Official
• 

  ▶
  Full Movie Preview

  Clip · Official
• 

  ▶
  Academy Conversations: 'Don't Worry Darling' w/ Olivia Wilde, Affonso Goncalves & Arianne Phillips

  Featurette · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2022-09-26
  ★ 6/10

  So imagine the scenario. A boozy lunch with with some screenwriters who had just seen "Vivarium" (2019) and began to recall "Stepford Wives" (2004) and the "Truman Show" (1998). We know, say the assembled talent - let's write a pointless hybrid of these stories, making sure to avoid the best bits of any of them then get two gorgeous people to take part. We'll end up minted! Well they may well have ended up making loads of cash, but what they have provided for us is an heavily stylised story that goes nowhere fast. To be fair, Florence Pugh tries quite hard as "Alice", the increasingly disturbed wife of "Jack" (Harry Styles). They live in an Utopian desert community where the men all head to work for "Frank" (Chris Pine) in the morning and the women do the standard middle class housework, shopping and networking things. All is idyllic until "Alice" notices that one of their neighbours "Margaret" (KiKi Layne) is convinced that something is amiss amidst their perfect lifestyle. When an inexplicable tragedy ensues, "Alice" starts to have nightmares and soon her marriage and his career prospects are in jeopardy. Pine isn't the least menacing as the duplicitous "Frank" and though the camera really does love Styles, he has little here to demonstrate whether he can actually act or can just fill a perfectly tailored suit as well as Daniel Craig. That's really the problem here. The film looks good, but the plot is completely undercooked. We are delivered of a partially formed plot that is derivative and, frankly, rather dull. The last few scenes with the guys in red reminded me of a television commercial for Vodaphone and at just over two hours long, I was just unengaged with it all. Styles' looks will take him far and working with the likes of Pugh and Pine will only help him, but unless his people work harder on the scripts and characterisations, then he will just end up Zac Efron-light. This is a film for television in due course, I'd say.

  Read full review ↓
• r96sk2022-10-11
  ★ 9/10

  I thought this was great. I only knew of the off-screen drama about <em>'Don’t Worry Darling'</em>, thankfully I hadn't read or seen anything at all about the plot - which, obviously, helped my enjoyment. As such, I was extremely interested in the first chunk of this. It builds up nicely, revealing details here and there. The ending isn't as strong but I still dig it, don't get me wrong. The cast are terrific, even if Florence Pugh completely wipes the floor with her co-stars... and I don't mean that negatively on them one bit, it's simply a case of Pugh giving an outstanding performance. This is only the third film of her's that I've seen... gotta watch more! Away from Pugh, I was impressed by Harry Styles. He can act. I will say, though, that Shia LaBeouf would've been greater in the role though. Elsewhere, Olivia Wilde (also dir.), Chris Pine and Gemma Chan do good things. Is it a perfect film? Not at all. Is it entertaining? Sure is. Each to their own, but I thoroughly enjoyed this 2022 release.

  Read full review ↓
• Nathan2022-10-14
  ★ 7/10

  It is no surprise that Don't Worry Darling has been marred with public controversies and poor critic reception, but is it really bad as the media would want you to believe? While I admit, there are plenty of issues in the story department, like completely abandoning certain plot details as they are introduced or leaving certain character plots half-baked to name a few, the other aspects of this film really make this an enjoyable viewing experience. Olivia Wilde's direction is actually really well done here. I could tell that certain shots and elements were done with the specific intent to create a romanticized version of the 1950's while still giving glimpses of something sinister hidden underneath. Although it is a shame that these elements didn't lead to much in terms of a reveal at the end. The acting is a mixed bag here. Florence Pugh and Chris Pine absolutely carry this film. Pugh carries such complex emotions and is able to show her internal struggles while putting on a pretty face for appearance sakes. It is captivating and the audience can completely be resonant with her, this connection makes her character easy to root for. Chris Pine was really sinister in this role. I have not seen him as a villain in many shows and he does a fantastic job. For whatever reason, his mannerisms really reminded me of James Spader in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and that is a complement. Pine was not giving much screen time or character development, but he does the most with what he has. Olivia Wildes was fine, do not really have any complaints really, wasn't great but wasn't bad. Harry Styles' performance is hard to pinpoint. While I don’t think he did bad, but when he is constantly sharing the screen with Pughe, he is overshadowed a lot and his deficiencies show much more. Overall, I was disappointed with Don't Worry Darling and the potential that was there to be such a special film. But it was still a good film that I had a fun time in. Score: 69% Verdict: Good

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• 

  Vertigo Entertainment

  US

• 

  New Line Cinema

  US

Key crew

• EditorAffonso Gonçalves
• Foley SupervisorWyatt Sprague
• Sound DesignerLawrence Zipf
• Sound MixerSteven A. Morrow
• Boom OperatorMichael Kaleta
• Sound Effects EditorRich Bologna
• Sound Re-Recording MixerSkip Lievsay
• Foley EditorRick Chefalas
• Supervising Dialogue EditorLidia Tamplenizza
• Utility SoundBryan Mendoza
• ADR MixerJason Oliver
• Sound Re-Recording MixerPaul Urmson
• Supervising Sound EditorSkip Lievsay
• Utility SoundMax Osadchenko
• Dialogue EditorJac Rubenstein
• Supervising Sound EditorPaul Urmson
• Costume AssistantChelsea Brinkhaus
• CostumerToni Cunningham
• Principal CostumerTricia Yoo
• Assistant Costume DesignerRudy Mance
• Music EditorBill Bernstein
• Assistant Costume DesignerMonica Chamberlain
• VocalsHolly Sedillos
• Costume CoordinatorMallory Bradley

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• suburbian idyll
• cult
• palm springs
• psychological thriller
• stepford wife
• woman director
• curious
• 1950s
• cultists
• unhappy wife
• amused

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical2022-09-23R
• Digital2022-10-25R
• Digital2022-11-07R· HBO Max
• Physical2022-11-29R· 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray / DVD
• TV2022-11-26R· HBO / HBO Latino

Also known as

International titles

• Dert Etme SevgilimTR
• Ne t'inquiète pas chérieCA
• 걱정말아요 그대KR
• 別擔心親愛的HK
• Don’t Worry, DarlingUS
• Não Se Preocupe, QueridaBR
• 別擔心親愛的TW
• No te preocupes cariñoMX
• อย่ากังวลไปเลยที่รักTH
• ドント・ウォーリー・ダーリンJP
• Não Te Preocupes QueridaPT
• Не беспокойся, дорогаяRU