5 Thoughts during "Don't Worry Darling"

*SPOILER ALERT - DO NOT CONTINUE READING IF YOU DON'T WANT SPOILERS*

Don’t Worry Darling is taking over not only the screens, but people’s minds, conversations, and lives (not to be dramatic or anything). Fans are creating theories across the nation, in an attempt to work out the answers to the questions Olivia Wilde left in the dark. So come on a journey with me to try and decipher my own thoughts, five to be exact.

1. After watching the film, I thought to myself, where does the name of the film actually come from? Usually in films, the name appears in the script, spoken by characters, however (to my knowledge) the words ‘don’t worry darling’ are never actually spoken out loud so it got me thinking. Could the name be the very first symbolic moment Olivia Wilde gives the audience a hint about the film? ‘Darling’ refers to the wives and it’s the men telling them not to worry because they are living the perfect life, that they have forced them to live, therefore mirroring the control they have over them. Our generation has amplified the word ‘gaslight’ and I think that’s what Wilde wanted to illustrate in the men’s behaviour. Jack convinced Alice that she was crazy, so she wouldn’t question their life together and therefore he could keep her there.

2. Secondly, during the unravelling of Alice’s mind, many strange things started occurring. It showed the walls were moving in and trapping her, she unknowingly wrapped her head in cling film and when she was in the bath, Alice went under water, but her reflection stayed in the mirror and turned to look after herself. And when the film ended, it was never clearly explained why these things were happening. For example, some people question whether it was Frank tormenting Alice in the outside world as he had control over everything in Victory, or if she was just simply going crazy. This is just one of the many questions of Don’t Worry Darling that was never answered.

3. In one of the final scenes where Alice walks out after killing Jack, all the wives and husbands are watching her, and the wives seem to understand exactly what Alice is thinking and feeling. The scene continues to show streetlights exploding for no reason. And it made me think back to when Frank stated that the only thing that can harm victory, is chaos. So, I think the sudden violence could possibly be portraying the wives finding out what Alice knows, victory is a fake life given to them by their husbands - the chaos.

4. My fourth thought was about Harry Styles (I had to bring him up at some point). The character he played, Jack, I think has been so romanticized by his fans and by the media that they are not realising that Jack, is not as good of a person as they think he is. It’s clear he loves Alice, and he states he gave them this life so she doesn’t have to work her life away to pay for basic things, and she can just stay at their ‘perfect’ home. A point that I saw on TikTok actually, is Jack taught Alice how to drive, and some are questioning whether he did this so, if needs be, she knew how to escape. And in the end, she does escape by driving. However, we must acknowledge the line between love, and a little bit psychotic. He ripped her own life away, because he thought it would be best, which also pays attention to the misogyny within his character and all the male characters in Victory. Jack couldn’t bear Alice being the person to bring money in for them to live, so he forced her to live as a 1050’s housewife, cooking and cleaning all day, whilst he went to work.

5. Finally, I wanted to give credit to the character ‘Bunny’, played by Olivia Wilde. A lot of reviews of her character state that she tries forcing herself into the film too much, inputting scenes which aren’t really necessary for the storyline. Though personally, I think the character had an entertaining and purposeful presence. Towards the end, it is revealed that Bunny chose to live in Victory, unlike all the other wives who had no idea. This would explain the scenes where she looks extremely happy with her friends, or even when Frank was talking about Victory, and seeming so entranced by his words. At least one of the questions was answered in the film.

For the male viewers of Don’t Worry Darling, they seemed to leave the film not liking it as much as the female viewers, confirming the film was made in the female gaze, if you’d like to hear more of this perspective, I also talk about it on ‘Don’t worry darling- Harry’s house in film’ also found on The Vibe news page.

But there you have it, my five thoughts in as much detail as I can possibly give you, let me know what yours are.