Well, actually, there’s been a lot of worry for weeks now over Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling with the mess behind the scenes between Olivia and Florence Pugh, and Olivia and Florence and Shia LaBeouf dominated headlines. The situation has calmed down a bit lately as other cultural events have moved to the forefront but we’re in the home stretch now before the film’s release a week from today.
The New York premiere is happening on Monday so basically we’ll be chasing the Queen’s funeral with a shot of whatever gossip comes out of the Don’t Worry Darling red carpet MINUS Florence. Everyone’s attention will be focused on whether or not Olivia and Harry Styles interact with each other – and if they don’t interact with each other, what that could mean about their relationship.
So the sh-t is about to kick up again and that’s even before the film is released wide for everyone to deep dive on Olivia’s direction, Florence’s performance, Harry’s performance, and all those intimate scenes that Olivia’s been talking up so much. I know we live in a gross pervy world that can easily take sexual imagery to a bad place but in this case, it’s the film’s director putting the spotlight on sex scenes as an artistic choice that’s meant to highlight female pleasure… which invites scrutiny over those scenes as audiences and critics assess whether or not those visuals fit into the overall narrative structure of the film and amplify its intended message, if there is one. And by all accounts, Don’t Worry Darling is supposed to be a “f-ck you to the patriarchy”. The sex, then, is part of that intention.
We’ll find out in week whether or not, according to a wider audience, Olivia Wilde gets there. And whether or not the Don’t Worry Darling conversation will remain on the drama behind the scenes or if what happens onscreen takes the focus.
Here’s Olivia leaving the gym yesterday seemingly sending a message with her sweatshirt.