Why We’re Excited for Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles
Once you see the teaser you'll know why.
Director Olivia Wilde is not quite the voice Hollywood usually seeks after.
Her directorial debut Booksmart was an honest, mature and side-splittingly funny take on the realities of high school. Beanie Feldstein’s character Molly Davidson comes to learn that she’s not the chosen one and that everyone has aspirations despite appearances. In classic post-feminist fashion, Molly realizes that having fun doesn’t make her any less worthy of her ambitions - it’s actually what makes hard work pay off.
Wilde is not a conventional voice in Hollywood right now, particularly as a female director in a male-dominated industry, but it’s one that is so desperately needed. Having seen the trailer for Don’t Worry Darling - a 1950s thriller about a languishing housewife (Florence Pugh) and her suspiciously suave husband - it’s clear Wilde is ready to continue this thread.
The casting is rather ingenious. Pugh has made a name for herself playing complex female characters in precarious relationships. In Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, she played Amy March, an aspiring artist under pressure to marry for her and her family's financial security.
In Ari Aster’s Midsommar, she was Dani, a psychology student trapped in a codependent, abusive relationship which she comes to realise through the eyes of the Swedish cult they become enlisted in. Her garish smile and voided eyes in the film’s final shot as she’s crowned May Queen will stay with us forever.
Co-starring is One Direction alum and pop-star of the moment Harry Styles, portraying Pugh’s disarming husband. What’s clever about this choice is Styles’ current place in the culture. He’s become something of a fashion icon for his bold and flamboyant sartorial choices and has been hailed as a good role model for young men. Having him portray the male archetype of the abusive 50s husband will make for interesting commentary on hegemonic masculinity and how the media represents men.
Stylistically, it’s a U-turn for Wilde. The buzzy set pieces and whiplash pacing of the lighter Booksmart will undoubtedly be replaced with darker subtext, violence and a slow-burn Hitchcockian thriller. Many break-out directors often stumble by giving their audience a copy-paste of what made them so beloved, but Wilde is taking a very different tack with this upcoming film.
Having proved her merits as an actress, Wilde is now excelling in the director’s chair despite only having one film to her name. It’s perhaps a good indication of where the film industry is headed - releases by female directors are getting the attention they deserve. Greta Gerwig is on a winning streak with her upcoming Barbie flick with Margot Robbie and Nia DaCosta made history with the box office success of Candyman.
While there are ways to go, we can be hopeful Hollywood is becoming receptive not only to a diversity of female voices but to feminist filmmaking with a political lens.
Don’t Worry Darling hits theatres on September 23rd. Check out the teaser here.
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