Don't Worry Darling

 Don't Worry Darling, it's only a movie.

This is perhaps the most anticipated film of the month. It's gotten a lot of press for having Harry Styles in top billing and his relationship with director and co-star Olivia Wilde. It also has a relatively secret plot involving dangerous suburbia. As Chris Pine's sinister Frank says, "I'm curious to see where [they're] going with this." 

Your curiosity shall be rewarded.

It's the 1950's. Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack Chambers (Styles) live in the town of Victory, run by the aforementioned Frank and his "Victory Project." What is the Victory Project? It's so important that Jack can't explain what it is. He and his fellow workers head off to the desert each day while their wives live in luxury. The only caveat is that they can't leave the city limits.

One of Alice's neighbors, Margaret (KiKi Layne), kills herself in front of her. But the VP guys tell Alice that Margaret tripped off the roof and lived. That and a few other occurrences lead Alice to question her reality. Meanwhile, Jack moves up the corporate ladder and he doesn't want Alice to make him look bad. The VP guys will do anything to keep their super-secret project super-secret. Alice has to find her way out of Victory on her own.

Shane and Carey Van Dyke (grandsons of Dick) share screen story credit with Katie Silberman, who wrote the film's actual screenplay. The film takes time in crumbling Alice's sense of reality; it's fitting that her first clue is a carton of yolkless eggs. Alice's hallucinations - and actual trauma - are legitimately creepy moments. The actual nature of the Victory Project makes all too perfect sense. It's not just in what it is, but what kind of men the VP guys really are. It's a bit overlong - apparent when Jack shows off some awkward dance moves at a VP party - but it buckles when Frank's yes-wife Shelley (Gemma Chan) turns on him with nary a clue. 

Pugh as Alice is compelling all the way through. It's fun to watch her initially happy life with Jack. We're as perplexed as she is as she confronts her crumbling reality. We're invested as she finds the means to escape her suburban nightmare. Styles as Jack is fairly likable through most of the picture. Once the twist hits, we realize how pitifully narrowminded he is. Pine is charismatic as Frank and Timothy Simmons is perfectly callous as VP's shrink Dr. Collins. Wilde's character Bunny is a good confidant for Alice whom we pity by the end. 

Victory is a special kind of town. It's so alluring and so perfect you'll be creeped out before the twist hits. That's how Katie Byron's production design rolls. The characters wear some dazzling period attire visualized by Arianne Phillips. But the red jumpsuits worn by VP's goons will sear into your mind. Matthew Libatique's surreal imagery is sure to bring back memories of his work in Black Swan. Editor Alfonso Goncalves shines during the finale when Alice fights her way out of Victory. It's all set to a perfectly unnerving score by John Powell.

Don't Worry Darling is an entertaining suburban nightmare. It's an intriguing mystery film visualized with outstanding technical flair. Its lead character will keep you captivated even when the story drags. At least it's only 123 minutes and not any longer. I'll leave you to decide where to see it. My theatre screening didn't aim its projector all the way on the screen. That left me with most of, but not all, of the big picture. Hopefully you'll have better luck if you choose the small screen option.