The press tour for Don’t Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde’s upcoming film with Harry Styles and Florence Pugh, has not been plain sailing. Plagued by rumours of a fall-out between the director and Pugh over the involvement of ex-cast member Shia LaBeouf (amongst other reasons), the actor’s absence from today’s press conference at the Venice Film Festival didn't exactly put those fears to rest. It’s all added to the anticipation surrounding the Stepford Wives-inspired psychological thriller, and the first reactions from festival-going critics are now here.
In the film, Pugh stars as Alice Chambers, a 1950s housewife taking part in a utopian living project with her husband, Jack, played by Harry Styles (who began dating Wilde during the course of filming). The men in the community all work for one ominous corporation, all in aid of a mysterious "Victory Project", and Alice begins to worry about what the company's ultimate intentions are. She investigates and naturally doesn't like what she finds. The film also features Chris Pine as Frank, the founder of "The Victory Project", Gemma Chan as his wife, Shelley, and Olivia Wilde herself as Alice's best friend, Bunny.
After the first screening as the Venice Film Festival, the consensus pointed towards it being a flawed film with some standout performances.
In a two-star review, the I's Matthew Turner praised Harry Styles' acting but said the film fell apart towards the end, calling the third act "an utter disaster" with a "derivative" reveal. In two-star review, The Times' Kevin Maher complains about "the gaping plot holes and unanswered questions". The Telegraph's Jo-Ann Titmarsh gave it– take a guess – two stars, saying that while the film looked "gorgeous" the botched ending left feeling "more than a little offensive to men and women alike". Empire was kinder, with critic Helen O'Hara giving it three stars and praising Pugh's performance, while also expressing disappointment about the film's final act.
Meanwhile, in a four-star review, The Telegraph's Robbie Collin called Wilde's movie "largely fantastic: the sort of juicy but accessible studio production that have all but vanished since 1990s". The reaction is still rolling in from the festival, and we'll keep you up to date with all the reviews here.
