Timing continues to be, well, everything. Had this film come out prior to 2018, it might have been the celebrated centerpiece of the #MeToo movement instead of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Don’t Worry Darling describes a clinic on gaslighting and the suppression of female voices … especially strong female voices.
This is not, however, 2016 or 2017. The #MeToo movement has not yet proven strong enough to outweigh the evil. The damage has been done; Roe v. Wade has been overturned and the monsters who would gladly silence every non-conforming woman in the world speak far louder than those they seek to oppress. Hence, a movie like this –warning or identifying the danger present in giving in to MAGA—is almost comically outdated. It’s not like Don’t Worry Darling is useless; there are plenty of Americans who still NEED to know the danger of the MAGA utopia (as if that were even possible), but this strikes me not unlike something along the lines of a warning that the fascist rightwing of the United States might choose violence to achieve their political ends. I.e. If you haven’t figured that out already, this film isn’t going to help much.
Victory, yes “Victory,” is a small suburban desert town in, I dunno, Arizona maybe? While not quite a gated community, it is clearly a closed community where pristine, manicured cul-de-sacs display pristine, manicured lawns fronting pristine, manicured houses filled with pristine, manicured people. Every morning, the gussified menfolk climb into their 50smobiles at exactly the same moment while their women stand on the lawns in their morning outfits kissing them “good-bye.”
The days are all sunny; the women are all pretty; the life is cut straight out of a computer simulation. It is impossible not to mistake Victory for the “future” American conservatives want to see where any man, no matter how mediocre, has a nice house and good job and an insular support group, but mostly has a wife who cleans his house, prepares his food, and greets him at the door for support and/or sex when he comes home. Everything in the entire village has a shiny new feel to it, like it’s just been unwrapped and taken out of the box. That includes food, pets, and people. There are no anomalies; there is no middle ground. This is the MAGA wet dream.
Uh oh, MAGA, did you forget? Screw the bizarrely Anglo social structure; the economy you support has no middle class. Whatever you think the average businessman can afford without a spousal contribution, it ain’t this. Not anymore.
The focus family in the film is Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles, who, honestly, wasn’t bad). All the men work 
at the Victory plant. Funny that they don’t carpool, but, hey, concern for anybody else ain’t MAGA’s concern, knowwhatI’msayin’? What do they do at the plant? Well, that’s one of the mysteries here. And while the men are away, the women clean house, prepare food, shop, and then go to ballet class. Why ballet? Unsure, but likely cuz it’s hard to rabble-rouse while doing a plié.
And one day, Alice sees a plane crash. That’s not quite right. She sees a plane in trouble that sure looks like it’s about to crash, but the floundering plane ducks behind a mountain. Out of concern and curiosity, Alice follows by herself. And then her world changes.
I got into Don’t Worry Darling. It struck me at first like a Stepford Wives knockoff; but Darling is, imho, a bit deeper and more reflective of the time we live in. The film has been surrounded by controversy what with Shia Lebeouf being replaced by Harry Styles and some weird spitting incident involving the film’s villain, Chris Pine. Oh, plus Olivia Wilde wanted the film to reflect on her breakup with Jason Sudeikis. TBH, I don’t know about anything that didn’t happen on screen … and I don’t care. What I saw on screen was a pretty good film, and yet one that was just about five years too late from being a great film. Timing is everything.
There once was a woman named Alice
Who tended a suburban palace
Til she found something odd
That challenged her God
Question: was this adoration or malice?
Rated R, 123 Minutes
Director: Olivia Wilde
Writer: Katie Silderman
Genre: MAGAvision v. Reality
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: #MeToo
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: MAGA
