Don’t Fear Darling, the second movie directed by actor/director Olivia Wilde after her directorial debut Booksmart made a splash, exhibits Wilde taking up a distinct style and appearing in addition to directing. The movie, written by Booksmart scribe Katie Silberman from a narrative developed with Carey and Shane Van Dyke (grandchildren of Dick), introduces viewers to an idyllic world that, expectedly, seems to be hiding some darkish secrets and techniques.
The movie’s forged is filled with stars, from Oscar-nominee Florence Pugh and Harry Types because the results in Chris Pine as the top of the neighborhood, with appearances from Wilde, Gemma Chan, and Nick Kroll. The setting is an all-too-perfect 50s suburban world making the complete movie a marvel. There are attractive traditional automobiles, gorgeous mid-century structure, and stylish fashions for the women and men on display. Even the encircling desert is superbly shot in a manner that evokes cinemascope westerns.
The one factor that doesn’t match the aesthetic, or so it appears, is the heavy digital rating from John Powell. The rating typically melds with the movie’s sound design, creating a way of omnipresence to the music that’s unnerving and thrilling, particularly as startling sound cues flip into lengthier compositions.
It’s a phenomenal movie, full of lovely folks, however sadly that’s not sufficient.
We’ve Been Right here Earlier than
The neighborhood on this magical neighborhood in the course of the desert the place males go to work on daily basis and girls keep dwelling instantly brings to thoughts Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives. That’s not essentially an issue; different movies have mined the horror of suburbia, earlier than and for the reason that launch of The Stepford Wives, with various levels of success. The difficulty is that the primary half or so of Don’t Fear Darling feels too intently associated to that iconic textual content.
The neighborhood exists so that girls could be men and women could be males. It’s “the best way issues are presupposed to be,” we hear Pine say in a voiceover at one level. The ladies are important members of this society insofar as they assist their husbands, however essentially the most individuality they’re afforded are the dishes they make and the clothes they purchase. Pugh’s Alice begins to query issues after her good friend Margaret (Kiki Layne) says issues aren’t proper, and she or he witnesses a airplane crash within the desert outdoors the neighborhood.
The women and men of the neighborhood, in fact, separate themselves from Margaret, together with Alice, whilst she begins to imagine that one thing could also be flawed. However when Margaret dies, Alice turns into satisfied and begins to analyze. Sadly, this portion of the movie feels gradual, maybe not by any fault of the filmmakers however just because now we have seen it so many occasions earlier than. In a post-Black Mirror world, the investigation of an idyllic world isn’t as fascinating because it as soon as was. We’ve seen it performed out too many occasions and too rapidly for a movie to spend as a lot time on it as Don’t Fear Darling does.
Wasted Potential
Don’t Fear Darling turns into one thing distinctive, or no less than extra fascinating, when Chris Pine’s Frank decides to antagonize Alice. Whereas the neighborhood gaslights her about what she has seen, he helps her questioning; actually, he nearly begs her to problem him. This antagonism leads to a cocktail party scene that’s transcendent.
The 2 each try and persuade the get together of their fact, however Frank already has everybody on his facet, so Alice is already at an obstacle. It doesn’t matter what Alice says, just one particular person on the desk (one of many different ladies) will entertain her questions and criticisms of the world they inhabit. It’s an excellent scene, and each Pugh and Pine are incredible in it (as they’re all through the movie). Nevertheless it’s the one scene that manages to really feel new and thrilling within the entirety of the movie.
Earlier scenes between Jack and Alice, the place they fiercely and excitedly make love, are genuinely erotic and convey into query whether or not the movie will transform a contemporary erotic thriller. Sadly this eroticism disappears after the primary twenty or thirty minutes. That’s all of the extra disappointing given that there’s a palpably charged second between Alice and Frank’s spouse Shelley (Gemma Chan) early within the movie that appears to vow issues to come back.
The mixture of aesthetic accomplishment and transient thrilling moments imply that Don’t Fear Darling is much from a failure. There may be greatness right here. Nevertheless it’s held down by its overlong first half and a script that doesn’t provide something we haven’t seen earlier than.
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This text was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Kyle Logan studied philosophy and now always overthinks music and flicks.
He’s a movie and tv critic and basic popular culture author who has written for Cultured Vultures, Chicago Movie Scene, Fortress of Chills, and Filmotomy. Kyle has lined digital movie festivals together with the inaugural Nightstream pageant in 2020 and the 2021 Fantasia Movie Competition. Kyle is keen on horror movies, animation, Star Wars, and Journey Time, in addition to older style movies written and directed by queer folks and girls, notably these from the Seventies and 80s. Together with writing, Kyle organizes a Queer Movie Problem on Letterboxd.
