‘Don’t Worry Darling’ is a thriller mystery film that came out in theaters on Sept. 23 and was directed by Olivia Wilde. After the film was released onto HBO Max on Nov. 7, I was finally able to see it in its entirety after hearing about it so often through friends and social media.

This film stars many famous actors, such as Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde and Nick Kroll. It was hard to ignore this movie on social media as TikTok was buzzing about the drama between the actors in real life and how the main character, played by Florence Pugh, did not get along with director and actor Olivia Wilde. I thought that this was strange because it seemed to be so publicly put out that the cast was having problems with each other by Wilde.

After watching the trailer to this movie, it was clear to me that I did not understand the plot at all, as it didn’t give too much information. However, I generally like to go into a movie without any background because I think it’s a better experience that way and you have no expectations going into it.

The movie appears to be set in the 1950s in Victory, California, where the residents are wealthy. The husbands go off to work every day and the wives stay home to cook, clean and tend to the needs of their husbands. The only rule is that they are not allowed to go past the city limits and are told it could be fatal to them as well as everyone in the town.  The interesting part is that the husbands are under no circumstances allowed to talk about their job because it is highly confidential. 

Creepy, right?

I would definitely want to know what my husband is up to every day when he leaves and what the danger is that I’m not allowed past city limits.

This movie got so strange and freaky pretty early on with Pugh seeing a plane crash in the desert where she’s not supposed to go, only finding that after walking miles through the desert to help, there was no plane after all and then just waking up in her bed. I didn’t know what to think of this moment. There was definitely a plane crash, so where did the plane go? And how did she just wake up in her bed out of nowhere?

As the movie went on, it was clear to me that this had to be a simulation type of situation. With strange things happening like empty eggshells, walls closing in, and hearing from a neighbor who had found out the truth, only to be called insane.

The reveal of the truth was shocking. I had eventually figured out that it was a simulation but seeing Pugh and her husband, played by Styles, living their real life outside of the simulation was jarring. Seeing how they got into the simulation was even more jarring. Seeing Harry Styles as ugly for the first time felt life-altering. But it was perfect for the movie.

I think that this was overall a great movie for people who like mysteries and unexplainable events. The only thing I was hoping for was more explanation of what the simulation actually is. Is it a cult? Is it something you would find on the dark web? Or was it just some seriously messed up people who stumbled across a new movement? That answer was not given.

I’ve seen a few people on social media trying to justify Styles’ character’s actions saying he was just trying to save Pugh from a terrible life by putting her in the simulation so she would be happy. I think not. Strapping someone to a bed with their eyes pried open 24/7 to live in a fake society and take you away from your real life does not seem justifiable to me. Just because he’s Harry Styles does not mean he can get away with everything.

I’ve watched this movie twice so far, and the number is likely to rise. I think that the acting is phenomenal in the movie, especially from Pugh, she played a strong, independent and brave woman in a society where that wasn’t allowed, and she nailed every second of it.