Don't Worry Darling - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Don't Worry Darling



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
I was morbidly wanting to watching Don’t Worry Darling for MONTHS. The movie has almost become an internet legend for being the film that was in the news for the controversy SURROUNDING it more than the actual subject matter or quality within more than anything. The craziness started earlier in the year when it was known that Shia Labeouf was let go from the production and claimed all sorts of crazy on set hijinks. Then Florence Pugh made VERY obvious gestures at keeping tight lipped, then Olivia Wilde’s romance with Harry Styles (whom she hooked up with after getting divorced from her husband) garnered rumors all their own (including the fact that their “romance” made a LOOOOOT of people on the set very uncomfortable) and pretty soon the movie’s controversies were more entertaining than the film itself.

I’m not gonna lie, I think a lot of it was intentional. Don’t Worry Darling was getting eviscerated by all involved in the production according to leaks, and Olivia Wilde seemed to be operating on the principals of “any press is good press” and there seemed to be a sort of “reveling” in all of the dirty laundry from the production being laid out for the audience to gobble up. At the end of the day the film performed exactly as was expected. It bombed at the box office and the small amount of public interest generated by the behind the scenes scandals only boosted it a little bit.

It certainly looks gorgeous on the surface, but the sun soaked 1950s suburban neighborhood in what seems like the middle of the Nevada desert is anything but. Even though the house wives live their days in beauteous toil to maintain their homes for their husbands, who come home to loving wife and being able to indulge in whatever their heart desires. Each day the men get in their cars, head off to the mysterious Victory headquarters where they are supposedly working on top secret information. However, housewife Alice Chambers (Florence Pugh) feels something is “off”, so to speak. She starts having visions of of a life outside of the idyllic community, and starts wondering why they’re so heavily encourage to stay inside the community and NOT go out anywhere.

Things get even more confusing when her friend Margaret (Kiki Layne) apparently offs herself and nobody seems to notice her missing. Even her loving husband Jack (Harry Styles) is acting odd as well. Soon Alice begins to pick and pull at the strange strings lying around, only to find out that as the overly optimistic world unravels it opens up a darker and more twisted secret that she ever expected.

I’m going to just say it. There’s nothing special or exciting about Don’t Worry Darling, it’s just The Stepford Wives with VR and an obsession with what can only be described as abusive incels (the world seems obsessed with incels these days) as the main villains instead of high falutin rich folks. That’s literally it in a nutshell. Olivia Wilde uses some very odd choices of music and visual aesthetics to ramp up the tension in the first 2 acts, and for that I give her some major props. The film has a rather impressive ambiance going on that makes it creepy, a bit syrupy, and strangely hypnotic. The only thing is that it really isn’t any more than the sum of its parts, and the plot is extremely derivative. A lot of cool ideas, cool aesthetics, and plenty of creepiness, but at the end of the day Don’t Worry Darling is just a very weak derivative of The Stepford Wives narrative with a modern twist. No more, no less.




Rating:

Rated R for sexuality, violent content and language




4K Video: Video:

The 2.39:1 framed film was shot using Arri Alexa cameras and given a native 4K master, so the end result is quite the striking one. The HDR10 enhanced film is very sundrenched, with a warm honey colored glow to a very natural looking image (for the most part). Colors are sort of burnished and burnt ala oranges and browns from the 1950s that the film seems to be set in, as well as sharply accented primary colors such as bright green grass or a yellow lawn chair Dark shots are very revealing with plenty of shadow detail, though I did notice what looked like noise or artificial grain in some of the outdoor shots (such as when Alice is racing towards the Victory portal at the end). Overall, a very nice looking image and a healthy upgrade over the great looking Blu-ray.







Audio:

The Dolby Atmos track is nothing short of perfect, and this surprised me. Judging from the trailer I was really expecting a low key dialog heavy mix, but the track is practically rife with ambiance. I mentioned in the main body of the review that the film had some very odd musical and aesthetic choices, and said audio choices are actually rather punchy. Deep bass lines accentuated a very nuanced and varied musical score that stretches the limitations of the sound format by dancing all over the screen. Pings, pops, various musical cues and even mild static are used to create a sort of hypnotic and surreal sounding mix, and combined with strong vocals makes this an incredible experience. It’s not going to be an action track at all, but this is a purely organic and deeply immersive Dolby Atmos track nonetheless.








Extras:

• The Making of Don't Worry Darling
• Alice's Nightmare Deleted Scene

Final Score: ​

Don’t Worry Darling is a movie that had strong sociological themes at it’s heart, but it ended up being a hackneyed affair that couldn’t get past the simple sum of the interesting parts that it laid out on screen. Chris Pine was far and away the best part of the film along with Florence Pugh, with the rest of the cast feeling like high school production caricatures. Fans of offbeat gender warring films like The Stepford Wives may get a kick out of the film, but for most people it will simply be a pass or a low rental on Netflix one of these days. “Meh” is my final verdict.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Nick Kroll, Chris Pine
Directed by: Olivia Wilde
Written by: Katie Silberman, Carey Van Dyke, Shane Van Dyke
Aspect Ratio: 1.85.1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), English, French, Spanish DD 5.1, English DVS
Subtitles: English SDH, French, French (Canada), Portuguese, Spanish
Studio: Warner Brothers
Rated: R
Runtime: 122 Minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: November 29th, 2022

Recommendation: "Meh"

 

[Asere]

I am glad you got a chance to review it because my friend saw it and he said it was ok and reminded him of The Village and The Truman Show with a twist at the end. I've seen The Village but not The Truman Show. I will read your review after I watch to avoid any hint or spoilers.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

I actually really enjoyed the film.

 

[Michael Scott]

I am glad you got a chance to review it because my friend saw it and he said it was ok and reminded him of The Village and The Truman Show with a twist at the end. I've seen The Village but not The Truman Show. I will read your review after I watch to avoid any hint or spoilers.

I'd say less the village and the Truman show, and more stepford wives. Have fun!