By Ryan Lavoie

Each week, I will look at a movie that is currently in theaters or available to stream and give some reasons why people should watch it. This isn’t necessarily a film critique, rather, an overview of what I think is enjoyable about the film, and why it’s worth seeing. This week I’ll be looking at Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.

You’ve probably heard about Don’t Worry Darling for perhaps any reason other than how good the movie is itself. From the media drama surrounding the Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles, and Florence Pugh triangle, to Harry Styles’ accent, the movie made quick headlines. Leaving that aside, this movie brings with it a really good idea. This is a “things are not what they appear” movie that has mystery around every corner. Florence Pugh is terrific, and in my opinion overshadows Harry Styles and covers up any issue you might have there. This film creates a world with limitless potential, however, one knock that I have on it is that this potential was not realized enough. There are so many questions after watching, that it feels like a sequel was being heavily set up and borderline necessary just to answer everything. In that sense, this stand alone movie bites off a little more than it can chew. That aside, this is still worth the watch. The 1950s style setting is clean yet subtly creepy given the context of the film, and the reveal of what is essentially going on is a worthwhile moment. This is a different angle for me to approach in telling people to watch a movie but here it goes, watch this movie to determine what changes you would’ve made if you were writing the story. It’s a decent film, but I strongly believe there was a more robust movie to be made here. Don’t worry, Olivia Wilde laid solid groundwork, so it won’t feel like a waste of time to give it a watch, it just felt like a movie that was satisfied to be decent and live to film another day.

Don’t Worry Darling is still in theaters and will be available to be streamed on HBO Max in November.