Olivia Wilde Delivers The Sexy, Pulpy Goods

Don’t Fear Darling (2022)

_{New Line/rated R/123 minutes}

_{Directed by Olivia Wilde and written by Katie Silberman}

_{Starring Florence Pugh, Harry Kinds, Olivia Wilde, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll and Chris Pine}

_{Cinematography by Matthew Libatique}

_{Edited by Affonso Gonçalves}

_{Music by John Powell}

_{Opening in theaters courtesy of Warner Bros. Discovery on September 23}

In a sane world, earlier than Hollywood received swallowed up by IP fever and each piece of mainstream leisure turned a part of the continued (primarily on-line) cultural conflict, Don’t Fear Darling can be ‘only a film.’ I don’t know or care if Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde received alongside onset. Furthermore, I’m fairly positive the singer from One Route didn’t deliberately spit on the star of Hell or Excessive Water and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Faraway from the backstage melodrama and Venice premiere intrigue, it’s certainly only a fairly good film. Olivia Wilde’s second theatrical characteristic is, above all, a ‘Look what I can do!” filmmaker flex in service of an all-in film star efficiency from Florence Pugh. It received’t win any Oscars, nevertheless it’s constantly entertaining, with greater than sufficient cinematic spit-n-polish to justify a babysitter and big-screen theatrical viewing.

The screenplay, courtesy of Booksmart co-writer (and sole screenwriter of Netflix’s pleasant rom-com Set It Up) Katie Silberman, is fairly formulaic. It’s not like we haven’t seen movies like this numerous instances. The movie amusingly drops you proper into a giant occasion scene, because the women and men dwelling within the firm city of Victory, California. It’s seemingly modeled on Nineteen Fifties Americana whereas additionally meant to remind you of World Struggle II-era “secret cities” (the place males went off to construct the atomic bomb whereas their ‘blissfully unaware’ wives performed home). Victory is run and overseen by the mysterious Jack (Chris Pine). His firm subsidizes each materials need and wish with the understanding that the wives do their wifely duties and by no means depart the city. Sadly, all that glitters isn’t gold. One housewife, Alice (Pugh), begins stumbling upon darkish secrets and techniques that exist simply previous suburbia.

There are sufficient homages to different ‘your excellent world isn’t excellent’ movies (The Stepford Wives is an apparent inspiration) and tv exhibits (I’m stunned Warner Bros. hasn’t tried to promote it as “WandaVision, with intercourse!”) that it ought to include a ‘works cited’ web page. Nonetheless, in an period of revamps, remakes and reboots, Don’t Fear Darling is at the least a “rip-off, don’t remake” unique. Whereas the movie’s eventual twists, turns and divulges aren’t going to blow your thoughts, Wilde directs the hell out of this factor. Even when you guess the vacation spot, there’s a lot to chew on throughout the journey. It’s one other instance of how a movie’s price might be much less what it’s about than the way it’s about it. We get delicious, Hollywood-worthy manufacturing values going hand in hand with fluid set items, juicy character turns, sizzling film stars and unapologetic R-rated feminine pleasure.

Sure, Florence Pugh will get oral copulation from onscreen partner Harry Kinds within the movie’s opening scenes, which could have been par for the course within the early 1990’s erotic thriller increase. Pugh is pretty much as good as you’d count on right here, as a younger lady discovering cracks within the façade and continuously getting gaslit concerning the eventual fact. Pine relishes the prospect to play a smarmy villain, and the movie makes use of his devious charms sparingly. Kinds is pretty much as good as he must be, and albeit, I’d argue among the criticism of his efficiency up to now has been extra concerning the character than the actor. He’s a moist noodle, seemingly ready for the opposite shoe to drop. Kinds brings a presumption of innocence or willful naiveté. You query how a lot he is aware of in a approach you wouldn’t with, say, the initially solid Shia LaBeouf.

Olivia Wilde has a small however essential supporting function as a type of den mom of the group, whereas Gemma Chan has just a few selection moments as Pine’s spouse and the city dance instructor. KiKi Layne does so much with little or no. It’s in all probability not an accident that this dark-skinned Black lady finds herself unable to deal with the conventionally ‘excellent’ post-World Struggle II group. It’s an instance of race-conscious, somewhat than race-blind, casting. The remainder of the solid, together with Nick Kroll, principally fades into the background. Many of the melodrama facilities across the heroine, her husband and the presumed puppet grasp. I’ll concede that the second and third acts are extra redundant and thus longer than they must be. Nonetheless, Wilde is aware of that this might be her solely mid-budget, non-franchise, R-rated film, and he or she’s leaving all of it on the desk.

Wilde and Silberman appear much less within the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ than the ‘why.’ There’s a refreshing lack of clarification concerning (probably) fantastical components. There’s a refreshing religion in moviegoers to simply accept components and plot beats sans hand-holding exposition as a result of they make sense for the characters. I’d count on the perpetually on-line to say to be performatively confused whereas common (or irregular) moviegoers settle for the movie by itself phrases. For basic moviegoers who need to see a fantastical erotic thriller with beautiful film stars amid a visually dynamic ‘fantasy’ world, that’s precisely what the movie delivers. At the very least by way of directorial expertise, Olivia Wilde proves that Booksmart was no fluke. Pugh will get an old-school star flip straight out of the early Nineteen Nineties. Even a decade in the past, Don’t Fear Darling would simply be a very good film. I hope that’s nonetheless sufficient.