Don’t worry dear, the upcoming movie from the acclaimed Booksmart director Olivia Wildemade its debut at the Venice Film Festival on Monday.
It’s a movie that’s making headlines for all the wrong reasons. A film mired in controversy, with rumors of bitter on-set rifts between Wilde and the film’s star Florence Pugh. But before we get into that, here’s everything you need to know about the movie itself.
What is Don’t Worry Darling about?
Don’t Worry Darling is a psychological thriller set in the 1950s. Jack Chambers (played by mega-popular singer Harry Styles) lives with his wife Alice (played by Pugh) in a company town in California. A mystery unfolds as Alice begins to investigate the company her husband works for. Her investigation into the company’s “Victory Project” begins to tear at the fabric of their happy life.
Okay, now to the stuff you actually care about.
What is the drama between the actors?
Where should I start from? Don’t Worry Honey is a film mired in controversy from various angles. Let’s start with Shia LaBeouf.
LaBeouf was originally cast as Jack Chambers, but was quickly fired by Wilde and replaced by pop star Harry Styles after reported clashes on set.
Wilde discusses LaBeouf in a Variety profile.
“His process is not conducive to the ethos I require in my productions,” Wilde explained. “He has a process that somehow seems to require fighting energy, and I personally don’t believe that’s conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe environment of trust is the best way to get people to do their best work.”
LaBeouf, in turn, claims that he wasn’t fired, but quit, and sent Variety a video message from Wilde, in which she appears to plead with LaBeouf to return to the set because she’s not “ready to call it quits yet “.
In the message, Wilde appears to be talking about a conflict with Florence Pugh:
“You know, I think this might be a little bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo,” Wilde says in the video, “and I want to know if you’re willing to try this with me, with us. If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point, and if you can make peace — and I respect your point of view, I respect hers — but if you can do it, what do you think ?”
This has people online swirling over rumors of a rift between Olivia Wilde and her co-star Florence Pugh. There are literally thousands of tweets and extensive online discourse with fans analyzing and agonizing over social media posts and body language in group photos of the cast. Wilde was asked about the break-up rumors at a press conference for Don’t Worry Darling ahead of its screening at the Venice Film Festival.
“I can’t express enough how honored I am to have her as our host,” Wilde said. “She’s amazing in the movie and as far as all the endless tabloid gossip and all the hype out there, I mean the internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute, I think he’s well fed enough.’
But on Monday, the internet went wild over every interaction between the cast members at the press conference and the actual movie being screened. People are debating the smallest interaction between the stars in the film, from the seating order to the reactions to questions at the press conference. Social media is currently abuzz over an insane theory: that Harry Styles secretly spat at co-star Chris Pine before the film’s screening at the Venice Film Festival.
People are reviewing this short shot with a thin comb. (After careful consideration, I am absolutely of the opinion that Harry Styles did not spit on Chris Pine, because that would be crazy.)
There are other elements to the story. Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde’s relationship reportedly began during the filming of Don’t Worry Darling. Olivia Wilde was previously married to Ted Lasso star Jason Sudeikis and was recently servedwhich was announced as custody documents live on stage at Cinema-Con in Las Vegas.
When can I watch Don’t Worry Darling?
Don’t worry, Darling just made its debut at the Venice Film Festival, but it won’t be available to watch in the US until September 23rd.
What are the reviews saying about the movie?
Early reviews of the film so far have been mixed. As of this writing, the film sits at 39% on Rotten Tomatoes and 49 on CNET sister site Metacritic. These are low scores, especially considering that Wilde’s first film, Booksmart, released in 2019, was universally adored by critics.
Most reviews seem to find the film a bit undercooked. Critic Hannah Strong called it “rather rote and unimaginative”, and Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times said its failure was “mostly imaginative”.
It is worth noting, however, that the film received a standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival and that Florence Pugh’s performance in the film was highly praised by critics and those who saw the film at the festival.
Movies coming in 2022 from Marvel, Netflix, DC and more
See all photos