One of the most talked about movies of the year – albeit for all the wrong reasons – finally hits theatres in New Zealand and although it proves to be a handsome effort, it ultimately feels smaller than all the gossip surrounding it.
In a planned desert community with 1950s trappings named Victory, Alice (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) live an idyllic existence. She is a carefree housewife, he works at the mysterious Victory Headquarters, where every man in town heads each morning.
When Jack begins to ascend the corporate ladder, he and Alice are brought further into Victory's inner circle, at the centre of which is charismatic Victory co-founder Frank (Chris Pine) and his wife Shelley (Gemma Chan).
Then one day after her regular shopping trip, Alice notices a plane spiralling out of control above Victory, but is unable to find it when she goes searching for the wreckage. After losing consciousness by Victory Headquarters, she wakes up back in her home. Although Jack reassures her, Alice begins to notice more and more strange things about Victory.
As the marketing for Don't Worry Darling (which should have a comma in it) promises there is something sinister about Victory, these developments don't exactly come as a surprise. But when you tell a story like this, it's imperative that you at least try to stay one step ahead of the viewer. And that requires incorporating expectations brought about by the history of these kinds of narratives.