Credit: warner bros pictures
Under Her Eye
Don’t Worry Darling: the new trailer for Florence Pugh and Harry Styles’ thriller is seriously eerie
By Lauren Geall &Hollie Richardson
3 years ago
2 min read
Our first look at Florence Pugh and Harry Styles in the trailer for Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling teases intimacy and tenderness, but a whole lot of darkness.
If you weren’t already excited for Florence Pugh and Harry Styles’ upcoming psychological thriller Don’t Worry Darling, you will be now.
While we already had one trailer to mull over, it seems like with the September release date looming, Warner Bros have treated us to another glimpse of the new anticipated film. That’s right, trailer number two is here.
And just when we didn’t things could get any eerier, this initially cheery trailer takes a very dark turn. “Victory is safe and secure,” the radio presenter can be heard announcing as Alice (Pugh) is busy cleaning her windows, swimming and chatting with other wives – the idealistic image of domestic bliss.
But soon you realise that the “chaos” that CEO Frank underlines as a problem could very well be within Alice herself. We see her wrapping clingfilm around her face, trying to read her medical record to see it’s actually been redacted and, as Jack (Styles) is rising through the ranks at the Victory Project, the pressure of the picture-perfect couple mounts. He screams: “Not everyone gets this opportunity.”
Watch the incredibly tense new trailer for yourself here:
And if that wasn’t enough to drum up the excitement for Don’t Worry Darling, the first trailer most certainly will.
In it, we get our first full glimpse of Pugh and Styles in domestic suburban bliss: extravagant soirees, perfect lawns and steamy sexual encounters. But it’s clear, even right from the very start, that something isn’t right.
Credit: warner bros pictures
We’re introduced to the mysteriously named “Victory Project”, which Styles’ character Jack is working on, in a mission “to change the world”. But when Pugh starts to question what they’re really doing, she’s told forebodingly: “The one thing they ask of us is to stay here, where it’s safe.”
She appears as a woman pushed to the brink of madness, questioning everything she thought she knew about her life. And with brief glimpses of masked men, suicides, drownings and broken mirrors, it seems her questioning may have some serious consequences.
As the trailer ends, Jack says, “Our lives together, we could lose this.” But Pugh struggles to trust him, answering, “And I don’t want to be here anymore.”
The Olivia Wilde-directed suburban psychological thriller has been in the works for a while, but truly captured our attention back in September 2021, when a mysterious teaser trailer was released.
The short clip also revealed that the film will be released in cinemas on 23 September 2022 in both the US and UK.
As well as showing Pugh and Styles’ characters making out, the trailer also captures Pugh – who plays a housewife whose “reality begins to crack” – in a series of confusing creepy scenarios, including ripping what looks like plastic wrapping away from her face. Oh, and to top it all off, apparently that singing in the background is from Pugh, too.
Speaking on stage at CinemaCon in April, Wilde dropped a couple of tidbits about the film, including its influences. “Inception, The Matrix, Truman Show. It’s my love letter to the movies that pushed boundaries of ambition,” Wilde told the crowd.
“I want you to imagine a life where you have everything you could want,” she said. “Not just material, tangible things, like a beautiful house, perfect weather and gorgeous cars. But also the things that really matter, like true love or the perfect partner or real trusted friendships and a purpose that feels meaningful.”
“What would it take for you to give up that life, that perfect life. What are you really willing to sacrifice to do what’s right? Are you willing to dismantle the system that’s designed to serve you?”
It’s an update fans will have been eager to hear after many of the plot details were kept under wraps. Back in February 2021, Wilde shared a series of behind-the-scenes photographs from the Don’t Worry Darling set – including a black-and-white shot of Styles in a 1950s-style car.
Commenting on his approach to playing the supporting male role, Wilde writes: “It is harrrrrd to find actors who recognise why it might be worth it to allow for a woman to hold the spotlight. Enter: @harrystyles.”
She has also shared a photograph of Pugh, writing alongside it: “Can’t wait for the world to see the astonishing work you’ve put into this movie. Tom Cruise run + Meryl skills = THE FLO.”
What is Don’t Worry Darling about?
Deadline describes the movie as being “a psychological thriller for the Time’s Up era”
The film centers around power couple Alice and Jack (played by Pugh and Styles respectively). Jack works for The Victory Project, a mysterious company that promises world change. Meanwhile, Alice suspects her husband may be hiding something, and, slowly but surely, her “reality begins to crack, revealing a disturbing truth underneath”.
The synopsis continues: “Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950’s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine) – equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach – anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.
“While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the ‘development of progressive materials’, their wives – including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan) – get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause.
“But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. Just how much is Alice willing to lose to expose what’s really going on in this paradise?”
Who stars in Don’t Worry Darling?
Credit: Getty
Alongside Florence Pugh and Harry Styles, the star-studded cast of Don’t Worry Darling includes Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Kiki Layne, Nick Kroll and Timothy Simons. Wilde will also make an appearance.
Who is behind Don’t Worry Darling?
Don’t Worry Darling will mark Olivia Wilde’s directorial follow-up to Booksmart, the hit indie movie starring Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever which was met with praise by critics. She’s joined by her Booksmart writing partner Katie Silberman, and It producer Roy Lee.
When will Don’t Worry Darling be released in cinemas?
Brace yourselves for an autumn land date: the film has been confirmed to arrive on the big screen on 23 September 2022.
This story was originally published in September 2020 and has since been updated throughout.
Images: Warner Bros Pictures/Getty
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