Lizette Ibanez

Staff Writer

“Don’t Worry Darling,” a new psychological thriller directed by Olivia Wilde, just came out this past week on Sept. 23. This movie takes place in the picture-perfect suburban community of Victory. The husbands work for the same top-secret company and the wives stay at home asking no questions–simply accepting their lavish, all-you-could-wish-for life in Victory. The movie stars Florence Pugh in the role of Alice, a housewife who, unlike the others, grows suspicious of this seemingly-perfect community. Determined to get to the bottom of this wicked town, she is shushed and confronted with evil unexplainable circumstances. Pugh’s co-star, Harry Styles, plays his first big role as Jack, Alice’s husband who is a part of this secretive company she is so fervently trying to unmask. Although many of us were pumped to see these two hit the theaters to show off their talents and chemistry together, things were not at all what we expected, to say the very least.

It all started when Harry fans became aware of his new girlfriend, Olivia Wilde, who just so happened to be his former director. With “Don’t Worry Darling” being the second movie Wilde has directed, she was getting called unprofessional. A report came out from an individual who supposedly worked on the set, stating that Olivia was not fully attending her role as the director due to her eyes being focused on Styles. The report was just your topical rumor until fans were taken aback when Pugh was mentioned as being forced to take over Olivia’s directing job while she flirted with Harry. 

Needless to say, it was a lot. After a while, people started looking at the bigger picture. Two women with two big roles in the movie industry were pinned against each other. Not only that, but one of them was being called unprofessional and incapable of completing a job that is known to be done mostly by men. This all was over the idea that she “couldn’t keep away” from a male co-star. Pugh, on the other hand, was battling with being sexualized and having the film she worked on taken over by the audience. They had their full attention on Styles and certain scenes that “should not be the focus or the point of the film,” as Pugh stated in many interviews when asked about the situation. Ever since the first trailer came out and seeing the public’s reaction along with the drama tied to the film, Pugh has yet to promote the film on her social media platforms. However, she continues to show off the other projects that she has worked in.

Everyone–especially the fans–were ready for the premiere; questions were going to be answered, and rumors were going to be cleared up. The premiere came, but nothing was as expected. This was supposed to be Styles and Wilde’s first public event together as a couple, but nothing happened–I mean no interaction whatsoever. Now another rumor arose saying that it was all for publicity. The movie premiered, so that was all there was to it; the relationship ended just like that. Just another rumor added to the pile from this movie.

 During the press conference,one which Pugh refused to attend, Wilde was asked about the drama and her relationship with Pugh. In a very vague and simply-getting-through-the-question way, Wilde stated that the media was going to feed itself and there was nothing else to say, not forgetting to add her appreciation for Pugh and her unbelievable performance. The crowd was somewhat content. Later, this little moment of contentment was erased when we jump cut to Pugh, who arrived late to the premiere and then proceeded to leave early, like during the standing ovation early. 

The rumors have been overwhelming and have taken over the film big time. However, this does not take away from the fact that Pugh’s performance, just from watching the trailer, is incredible as always. She has shown off her amazing talent to the world in past projects like “Black Widow,” “Little Women” and “Midsommar,” and she continues to show off in future projects like “Dune II” and “Oppenheimer.” She has shown us, especially in the past months, how to stand your ground and not fall into the cruelty of the internet.

Wilde, who has taken plenty of backlash herself, has added herself to the list of the few female directors in the industry. She has shown us an elegant way of dealing with the drama and simply not feeding into something that seems to feed itself. These two women have done outstanding work, and in the end, they have become women whom girls can admire. As for Styles, he’s still a baby to the movie industry, but that has not stopped him from doing everything else in the books–from launching his beauty brand Pleasing, to headlining his second world tour Love on Tour, to releasing the album “Harry’s House.” This cast is full of hard-working individuals that should all get the recognition they deserve. I personally will be going to support them as it has been shown to be a less-than-perfect ride to get here. It may just go along with the film, showing that nothing is as picture-perfect as we expect it to be.