The first trailer has arrived for intriguing-looking psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, the second feature as helmer for actress-turned-director Olivia Wilde, who made her feature directorial debut with 2019’s Booksmart.
The plot follows the happenings in the seemingly idyllic 1950s community of Victory, a company town housing the men working for a top-secret company that claims to be developing “progressive materials.” While the men work at the Victory Project Headquarters, their wives are able to spend their time enjoying all the perks that this perfect community offers. Among the couples are Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles, making another big step on the acting front following Dunkirk and a cameo in Eternals), whose lives take a turn when Alice begins to notice certain cracks in their idyllic lives. What is really happening in Victory?
Warner Bros. is calling this one “an audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller” – and the trailer, showcasing strong visuals (Black Swan and A Star is Born cinematographer Matthew Libatique behind the lens), a great cast, some wild twists, and a dose of hot and heavy eroticism, is certainly promising.
On stage recently at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, Wilde told the audience that the feature is inspired by films such as Inception, The Matrix, and The Truman Show. “It’s my love letter to the movies that pushed boundaries of ambition,” Wilde said. Regarding the film’s plot, Wilde said that the film would ask viewers, “What would it take for you to give up that perfect life? What are you willing to sacrifice to do what’s right? Are you willing to dismantle the system that is designed to serve you?”
Don’t Worry Darling, also starring Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, and KiKi Layne, opens in the U.S. on September 23rd. No Australian date has been announced as yet.
Here’s the official synopsis and rundown for Don’t Worry Darling:
From New Line Cinema comes “Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Olivia Wilde (“Booksmart”) and starring Florence Pugh (Oscar-nominated for “Little Women”), Harry Styles (“Dunkirk”), Wilde (upcoming “Babylon”), Gemma Chan (“Crazy Rich Asians”), KiKi Layne (“The Old Guard”) and Chris Pine (“All the Old Knives”).
Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine)””equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach””anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.
While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives””including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan)””get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.
But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?
An audacious, twisted and visually stunning psychological thriller, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a powerhouse feature from director Olivia Wilde that boasts intoxicating performances from Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, surrounded by the impressive and pitch-perfect cast.
The film also stars Nick Kroll (“How It Ends”), Sydney Chandler (“Pistol”), Kate Berlant (“Once Upon a Time– In Hollywood”), Asif Ali (“WandaVision”), Douglas Smith (“Big Little Lies”), Timothy Simons (“Veep”) and Ari’el Stachel (upcoming “Respect the Jux”).
Wilde directs from a screenplay penned by her “Booksmart” writer Katie Silberman, based on a story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke (“Chernobyl Diaries”) and Silberman. The film is produced by Wilde, Silberman, Miri Yoon and Roy Lee, with Richard Brener, Celia Khong, Alex G. Scott, Catherine Hardwicke, Carey Van Dyke and Shane Van Dyke executive producing.
Wilde is joined behind the camera by two-time Oscar-nominated director of photography Matthew Libatique (“A Star Is Born,” “Black Swan”), production designer Katie Byron (“Booksmart”), editor Affonso Gonçalves (“The Lost Daughter”), Oscar-nominated composer John Powell (“Jason Bourne”), music supervisor Randall Poster (“No Time to Die”) and costume designer Arianne Phillips (“Once Upon a Time– In Hollywood”).
A New Line Cinema presentation, “Don’t Worry Darling” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures.
