Don’t Worry Darling is the second directorial offering by Olivia Wilde released on September 23, 2022 in the U.S. The previews for the movie depict something like The Stepford Wives, the controversial cyborg housewives from the 1950’s. After watching the ending of the movie, I decided it was more like The Matrix X The Stepford Wives. Or possibly The Matrix X The Many Faces of AI, a play on the movie title “The Many Faces of Eve.” Don’t Worry Darling is a movie you must watch to the end. I’m hesitant to provide any spoilers on the movie because the film is actually very, very good. I hadn’t read any reviews or seen any spoiler content, and I’m glad I went that route. The film begins with what looks like a secluded desert community in what appears to be the Southwest called the Victory Project. It seems that it is a community developed for families attached to what is likely a military research facility. At first, it would appear to be Los Alamos – which would put it in World War II era. However, the film is intentionally vague on this point and other parts of the film point to the possibility of it being during the Cold War. The movie uses subtle deception very effectively. In fact, in my opinion that is a key message to take from the film. Allow your senses to be deceived at your own risk. As the semi-hedonistic lifestyles of the people populating the landscape deteriorate into a bacchanalian binge, specific cues signal that something is amiss. A Machiavellian twist is afoot. One of the picture-perfect wives is not happy. In fact, she is downright despondent as her husband pushes pills to produce a submissive comatose wife. However, eventually it becomes clear that mommy’s little helper can’t save anyone in this world. Can I convince you to just go watch the movie? Alright, in any case the main thrust of the movie follows the relationship between the characters played by Harry Styles as the charming Brit, Jack Chambers and Florence Pugh as Alice Chambers. They are young, appear to be in love, the world is their oyster. However, as one of the housewives has made very clear, something is not right. And that something starts with Frank (Chris Pine) the charming, enigmatic leader of the facility. He also appears to be the leader of a sort of governing board or club associated with the facility. Again, all is not what it appears. Why is no one asking questions and why is everything extremely structured, controlled, processed? And the question to ask is this the life we will soon be living? The entire movie appears to be a DARPA/MK-ULTRA project gone off the rails or right on schedule depending on your opinion of moving ever closer towards a psycho-civilized society, which we are. Watch the film and you may understand what I mean. 4/5 stars – interesting concepts, decent acting, and surprising plot.
