One of 2022’s most discussed films is Don’t Worry Darling, which is good because ambitious and ambiguous projects like this should be seen and discussed for years to come, and bad because most of what is being talked about is the stuff which did (or did not) occur offscreen, which matters very little.  On the plus side, this admittedly strange little movie has a great “retro” look, is timely in its primary theme and is certainly thought provoking.  But it has what may be a fatal flaw, one which prevents it from being or becoming a real classic, which I will discuss in some detail.

Olivia Wilde’s fantasy drama takes place outside Palm Springs, California in what seems to be the 1950s.  A sunny residential area is developed to support a secretive research center, where the men drive off to every day and their young, pretty wives spend the days cleaning, shopping and preparing for their husbands to return.  Two women eventually react badly to this monotony; the first, Margaret (KiKi Layne), seems to undergo a psychotic break, while the second, Alice (Florence Pugh), begins to follow suit but is more determined to survive and escape.

Recalling movies such as The Stepford Wives (either version, but the 1975 original is better), The Truman Show and even Logan’s Run to my mind, this psychological drama plays with reality and illusion quite a bit before finally revealing its big secret.  And that’s when it falls apart, for this reason: science fiction needs the science to make the fiction effective.  This story is purely psychological; it needs a concrete foundation from which to wander, but which is noticeably absent.  At the end are so many questions which either could have been fun to explore or which completely deflate the enterprise.  What a shame.

What does work is the strong female perspective.  In a world where women are obviously devalued and ultra-feminized, I was glad to see at least a couple of ladies revolt and fight back, even if their efforts are mostly fruitless.  Men (generally speaking) have been holding women down for far too long, as this movie recognizes and reports.  It’s nice to see a movie stir things up enough to make me feel ashamed of my gender, as this one does.  It’s just too bad it couldn’t have ditched the creepy black-and-white dancing visual motif and stuck to its more significant science fictional premise and potential.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  31 March 2023.