Cliff Notes – Viewers obsessed with wild psychological thriller
- “Don’t Worry Darling,” directed by Olivia Wilde and starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, has become a streaming success on Netflix, despite its mixed reviews and reported backstage drama.
- The film, which features themes reminiscent of “The Stepford Wives,” has sparked significant viewer engagement, with many praising Pugh’s performance and the film’s thrilling elements.
- Controversies surrounding the production included a reported feud between Wilde and Pugh, the replacement of Shia LaBeouf with Styles, and the public delivery of divorce papers to Wilde during a presentation.
Netflix viewers obsessed with wild psychological thriller
Don’t Worry Darling, starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, is set to come to Netflix after being haunted by reported backstage drama throughout its press run.
The 2022 Olivia Wilde-directed psychological thriller, which follows a 1950s housewife (Pugh) who starts to become unnerved by her picture-perfect husband and closed community, when it seems that not everything is as it seems.
Don’t Worry Darling is coming to Netflix
The film launched on Netflix and has hooked viewers, soaring to the top of the streaming charts.
‘Your movie for the weekend if you love thrillers like that of “Get out” or Shutter Island or Fractured watch this on Netflix “ Don’t worry darling” I enjoyed it. #dontworrydarlingnetflix,’ said mynameisAyomi on X.
‘So i just watched don’t worry darling. oh my f*****g god please go watch it on netflix rn,’ said backtocornelia.
‘Just watched ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ on Netflix. It’s like a modern retelling of the Stepford Wives, really enjoyed it 🤩,’ said AbandonedBear.
‘Watched Don’t worry darling for the first time yesterday and what the flip that was actually wild,’ said _holygrailbws.
And while audiences may have enjoyed the final product, it was fraught with backstage drama that caused chaos on set.
The film has an all-star cast
The film was met with mixed reviews, when it was released, and much of the attention from the film was caught up in the backstage drama on the set, which was well reported at the time.
Among the various rumours was a feud between the director and the leading character in the film.
It was reported that Wilde would frequently be absent from set, which frustrated Pugh and it was reported that the tensions culminated in a screaming match on set, as reported by Vulture.
Wilde praised Pugh publicly and blamed the tabloids for the reports of a fallout.
Pugh did not address the fallout claims and a report said that she would be ‘limiting press’ – although it was said this was down to the actress’s filming commitments on Dune 2, which she was filming in Budapest at the time of the Venice Film Festival.
Another controversy arose as Shia LaBeouf was replaced by Harry Styles.
Wilde addressed LaBeouf’s departure, saying that he had been let go from the project.
‘His process was not conducive to the ethos that I demand in my productions. He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy, and I don’t personally believe that is conducive to the best performances. I believe that creating a safe, trusting environment is the best way to get people to do their best work. Ultimately, my responsibility is to the production and to the cast to protect them. That was my job,’ she told Variety.
Shia LaBeouf was originally cast in the film
However, LaBeouf denied the claims, claiming that he was the one to decide to walk away from the project and even was able to show proof of texts as evidence.
Variety reported that the actor reached out in the days after their interview with Wilde was published, and forwarded them an email he had sent to the director where he said he was ‘confused by the narrative that I was fired.’
The next drama took place in April 2022 when Wilde was served divorce papers from her husband Jason Sudekis while on stage.
The couple was married for several years
While at a presentation at CinemaCon, Wilde was handed an envelope, which was reported to contain legal documents from Sudeikis.
Wilde later told Variety: ‘It was my workplace.
‘In any other workplace, it would be seen as an attack. It was really upsetting. It shouldn’t have been able to happen. There was a huge breach in security, which is really scary.
‘The hurdles that you had to jump through to get into that room with several badges, plus special Covid tests that had to be taken days in advance, which gave you wristbands that were necessary to gain access to the event — this was something that required forethought.’
She went on to say: ‘There’s a reason I left that relationship.’
The cast was reportedly thinned down in the edit
Another controversy arrived as actress Kiki Layne claims she and co-star Ari’el Stachel were ‘cut from most of the movie’
The actress who played Margaret in the film shared on Instagram: ‘The best thing about #DontWorryDarling is that I was lucky enough to meet @arielstachel. They cut us from most of the movie, but we thriving in real life. 🙂🙂 Love you Ari ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #GotMyCheck #GotMyMan #EverythingHappensforaReason.’
Along with all of this drama, there was also a (false) claim that Chris Pine spat on Styles during a Venice Film Festival panel. This was later proved to be totally false, but it exemplified how high the tensions were around this film that fans believed this story.
Wilde and Styles also began a relationship during this time which was met with a huge amount of media attention, adding only more drama into the mix.
The film was met with mixed reviews from fans
The reviews surrounding the film were mixed, with the film only earning a 38% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.
The critic’s consensus for the movie reads: ‘Despite an intriguing array of talent on either side of the camera, Don’t Worry Darling is a mostly muddled rehash of overly familiar themes.’
The audience ranking was higher with 74%, with a consensus that reads: ‘The ending isn’t for everyone, but the cast — especially Florence Pugh — helps Don’t Worry Darling make the most of a story with fairly few surprises.’
Don’t Worry Darling is now streaming on Netflix.