It’s no surprise that the world was in a frenzy over Don’t Worry, Darling which opened in theaters nationwide in September. The film received unfavorable reviews receiving just 39 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, which may be due to the numerous plot holes in the narrative, making it challenging to comprehend and enjoy as a viewer. Although a certain amount of denial is required when tackling the genre of dystopian psychological thrillers such as Do Not Worry Darling, it is also an obligation filmmaker are required to meet to make a story sense.
If you don’t yet see Olivia Wilde’s second film directed by her Don’t be Worried Darling, take your time. However, here’s a short outline of the plot: Alice Chambers, played by Florence Pugh, is living a perfect life in a town from the 1950s called Victory and her romantic husband Jack, played by Harry Styles, works in a job that is not clear.
A few days later, Alice begins to realize that things aren’t exactly as it seems in the fantasy world, and, in a long tale short, she is forced to realize that Victory is the result of a game that Jack forced her into after their marriage started to slide downwards in the real 21st-century world. After Alice is aware of this and Jack continues to make her stay, Alice kills him and escapes Victory’s enforcers. Victory returns to her everyday life, leaving the simulation and re-entering the world as a widow from her creation.
Hallucinations and empty eggs
The first thing to discuss is what makes up the bulk of the film Alice’s hallucinations. What’s going on? Many of her hallucinations border suicidal and destructive actions and scenarios; however, why is that? The hallucinations do inform the person that there is something wrong. However, none specifically provide any information that Victory is not legitimate. Let’s consider, for example, the scene in which Alice is squeezed between the wall and the window or the one where Alice almost suffocates herself using Saran wrap. What in these scenes suggests “Alice is in a virtual world”?
There’s obviously the famous empty egg scene, in which Alice breaks open egg after egg and discovers that there’s nothing inside eggs. This could mean that the reality of Alice isn’t as it seems. However, it also suggests a new problem with the plot: how do drinking and eating work inside Victory?
Victory Project? Are people’s bodies being fed in the real world, or do they eat food in Victory? With the empty egg aside, viewers often see real food being cooked and consumed in Victory, such as the ceremonial shots of coffee or toast with butter that are returned repeatedly when Alice and Jack begin their days in Victory.
If people eat during the game called The Victory Project, do they have that same nourishment in the real world? What is the role of the males as they leave the simulation every day to feed their bodies of wives, who remain engrossed in the simulation? So how will get to the bathroom function? There’s no reason to use toilets in the virtual world of Victory However, for the bodies of people in reality, What’s the issue? Do you have a catheter issue or similar?
Another question that is similar to this one is: how does pregnancy function within the Victory Project? Jack declares that the children aren’t real. However, throughout the film, Peg ( Kate Berlant) is pregnant, and Bunny (Olivia Wilde) has two children.
There’s something off. It’s essential to remember that everything within the simulation is of conception and was meticulously designed to be as accurate as possible. So can the children appear in the simulation? However, the idea of pregnancy in the simulation doesn’t seem to make sense. Are there any explanations for these questions? Or, more likely, were only a few unforeseen circumstances ignored?
The ending raises some valid Questions.
Another plot hole that we need to consider is the movie’s twist-end. First, there is the question of the method by which Jack kills Alice. Why does Alice kill Jack on the set of Victory also mean that she kills Jack in the real world, and yet Alice isn’t able to die by the Victory Project Victory but only on real-life occasions?
In simple terms, why do you explain why males can be killed in Victory but not women? Victory Project but not women? It could be because of uncleanness in the dialogue. However, Bunny’s use of language in her messages to Alice suggests that only men can kill in Victory and, regardless of the intent behind the dialect, could be misleading to the viewers.
In the final flashbacks from Don’t Worry, Darling, Jack is revealed to have pushed Alice to join the Victory Project, but how? It is possible that he did it to her possibly while she was asleep and forced her to use the apparatus that is featured on the screen. This isn’t considering that Alice will leave with a busy surgeon, having numerous family members and colleagues who knew her.
They would be aware that she woke up and vanished at some point. Maybe, Jack covered those bases by calling Alice’s work on her behalf, stating the team was moving, or Alice had decided to quit, but it’s unrealistic to think that nobody from Alice’s world would ever search for her.
Additionally, suppose Jack was not working before he and Alice were a part of the Victory Project. What is the job Jack leaves the simulation each day to pay for the expenses of participating in the Victory Project? One possibility is that Frank, who is played in the film by Chris Pine, was hired to assist in his role in the Victory Project, so he could be employed by the Project that is running the Project, which could explain the odd job promotion that turned into an into a forced dance scene during at the end of the movie. Whatever the case, these questions are not discussed in the film, which could make viewers scratch their heads.
How does the simulation work?
The entire concept of the film must be questioned. How can characters’ lives within the simulation of The Victory Project coexist within the identical reality? What happens when Alice and Jack simultaneously become aware of the natural world and have a unison conversation within the virtual world?
Contrary to virtual reality, or VR, which is the closest thing to simulations, the Victory Project appears to be a form of hypnosis, in which Victory is a fantasy that people create rather than a projected reality. If Alice enters Victory, it is because she is asleep in bed. When Alice speaks in Victory, it isn’t as if she makes a sound. When Alice blinks in Victory, her eyes are pulled open by a device that allows the simulation to function.
What is the real-life experience of the simulation shared with participants? In other words, what is the cause of the random earthquakes that occur during the documentary? It is not addressed and raises questions about how individuals can communicate these experiences in their various simulated realities. This is a massive mistake in the film that could seriously undermine the validity of the concept.
It’s true that Don’t Worry; Darling has several rough patches. The film is filled with intriguing ideas that, were executed differently, would be highly effective. However, the film is worthy of praise for its efforts. If nothing other than that, it deserves to be celebrated for its gorgeous cinematography and imposing leading lady, Florence Pugh. Both make the film worth watching.