Don't Worry Darlin - Film Review

This is a tale of visual manipulation, forecasting the distortion faced by wives in the 1950s due to their husbands cunningly preordained structure for their lives being disrupted by the discovery of these devious plans.

Let’s set the scene.

Jack and Alice Chambers, a young couple, have settled into their new home, that’s situated in the community of Victory. This experimental company town creates the lifestyle of a dream for anyone who has the pleasure to step foot in it, and work for the CEO, Frank, with its soft way of living and its consistency in joy, peace, repetition and structure.

What more could you ask for?

Because, everything appears to be great, right? Except for the fact that Jack Chambers fails to mention that their perfect life, the dream of any young couple is really a virtual reality neatly designed by their husbands in an attempt to maintain control over the lives of their wives and increase their financial profits.

In my opinion, I believe that this film attempts to illustrate the concept of male toxicity and manipulation, intertwined within this period piece, in an attempt to combine socio-political issues such as the matrix with the traditional misogynistic standard way of living during the 1950s.

Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely loved this film, and its ability to combine a thrilling storyline with a hard hitting performance by both Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, especially Director Olivia Wilde’s ability to incorporate historical content into a modernised work of art.

The use of The Skeleton Dance, a 1929 film, that’s consistently displayed on the television as Jack Chambers, the husband, leaves for work each morning- which we soon find out is his opportunity to relocate to Earth, is used as propaganda to paint the imagery of unison through news manipulation.

While he’s away, his wife, Alice, performs the duties of a stereotypical housewife in the 1950s, such as cooking and cleaning, the film purposely documenting the origination of life’s constitution, and a wife’s ‘role’ in the home, with the husband as the breadwinner.

These men continue to cheer their wives, encouraging them to continue to perform their basic duties in order to keep them limited and detained from ever bringing the truth of their acts to light.

There are many times in the film where the men completely disregard the emotional responses of their wives, or provide carelessness towards their entire existence. For instance, when Alice asked Dr Collins, Victory’s medical chief officer, about the disappearance of Margaret after her suicide attempt, she’s forced to refer to her as “Ted’s Wife…” in order for Dr Collin to gain remembrance of her actuality, him eventually labelling Margaret as ‘hysterical’ in order to eliminate suspicion. This technique is repeated various times in the film, as a reminder of a woman’s hormonal changes, which results in their delusions, as Jack resorts to this to throw Alice off her trail of discovery.

The main goal of the men of Victory is to convince their wives that their lifestyle is indeed real enough- and not a virtual planet created by advanced technology of course, to lead them into playing the role of the submissive wife.

Bunny, the character played by Director Olivia Wilde, shows that some women may be aware of their circumstance of submission to their husbands requests, but are content with their role in the home if it benefits them.

Our protagonist Alice, on the other hand, detests these lifestyle arrangements, and although in their past life, her husband Jack and her weren’t wealthy, she believes she was at least happy because she had choices.

This is a clear illustration of the battle faced by women in the late 1900s, a sociopolitical debate of the gender roles of women.

With the pressure of men to create stability in their homes, they often feel like it’s their responsibility to make ends meet, which is why Jack believes he’s “saving” Alice’s life by providing the home that any wife would dream of, Alice arguing that he “took it”. Jack confusingly states that she’s clearly more satisfied with their new lifestyle, Alice reminding him that it’s the ability to choose that counts, which is a pure indication that some women are likely to choose the opportunity to decide over wealth and comfort.

“Are you the man that you say you are?” Frank often implies in the film, taunting Jack with the mere thought of not owning up to his financial responsibilities as the head of the home, and therefore failing as a husband. This is a direct message to the internal struggle of men, who strive to use their financial success to create a hegemonic atmosphere in their home, and to therefore, stroke their ego. For example, Jack dancing like a puppet on the stage during their company party is an illustration of men's slavery to the matrix.

‘You met him when you dropped your ticket on the train and the man picked it up….’

Frank, the CEO of Victory, choosing the storyline of the wives remembrance of their first encounter with their future husbands to be the men picking up the train ticket that their wives supposedly dropped, illustrating the heroic, savior aspect that he intends to shine a light on, to create the impression that women always need help from men.

Jack is logical and knows Frank is wrong for the gaslighting and the manipulation of these young women, but the fact that he’s willing to place the key to his financial solution over his emotions prove that men often think with their heads and search for the benefits of every situation, while Alice and Margaret are driven by emotions and justice.

The statement “Boys and their toys…” said by Olivia Wilde’s character Bunny, could be a direct reference to how the husbands of Victory view their wives. As Bunny is aware of the virtual world, she may be referring to how their husbands keep them occupied with hobbies such as the mandatory attendance of ballet, which possibly keeps the wives entertained and in sync with each other's thoughts, and to the submission of their husbands.

‘There’s grace in symmetry, we move as one’

The consistency in Frank's propaganda to formulate the idea that there's strength in numbers exemplifies the restrictions he’s put in place to keep their wives contained in a symmetrical manner of thought, leaving little room for speculation or rebellion.

The fact that Frank mentions that he’s been waiting for someone like Alice to challenge him, to help him reach his potential, yet becomes disappointed by her continuation to “prepare dinner like a good girl” shows his joy in orchestrating a series of verbal degradation in the lives of these young women, to push them to their ‘limit’, yet proceed to remind them of where they stand.

Throughout the film, Jack also resorts to seduction as a form of domination of Alice, and control over her body and pleasure.

With some speculation of the viewers believing that the women of Victory were potentially being stalked and taken to the virtual world against their will as a form of misogynistic behaviour and potential femicide against women, this showcases the portrayal of socio-political messages being forecasted throughout this entire piece.

Overall, the combination of depth and thrill in this film provides an increase of anticipation and excitement. I thoroughly enjoyed its ability to intertwine historical features into a futuristic and modernised style, and look forward to the future of cinematic viewings….