Editor’s Note: The following are spoilers for Don’t Worry, Darling.Olivia Wildesecond film, psychological thriller, Don’t worry dear, hit theaters last week and introduced the world to the Victory project. The action takes place in the idyllic 1950s. Don’t worry dear centers around the residents of Alice’s Victory (Florence Pugh) and Jack (Harry Styles) as they live their ideal life. Jack goes to work every day with the other Victory men, leaving his wives at home where they clean, cook, and gossip with the neighbors. At night, the men return home to a beautifully prepared multi-course dinner and a caring wife as the cycle resets to start again the next day. But as Alice begins to notice things out of the ordinary - things she shouldn’t have seen - she begins to question her reality and the suave, mysterious leader of Project Victory, Frank (Chris Pine).
Just as Alice explores the plausibility of her ideal life, the plausibility of the film’s big twist is also in question. As Alice discovers, Project Victory is one big simulation, a fake. Men take their wives, most of them against their will, and put them in virtual reality, and when they go to work in Pobeda, they actually exit the simulation to work in the real world. The men are also responsible for the physical maintenance of their real life spouses, who remain in a catatonic state as they never leave the simulation.
What’s the big twist on Don’t Worry Darling?
In a series of short flashbacks, it is revealed that the real Alice works long shifts as a surgeon and just wants to relax after a busy day, which upsets her boyfriend Jack. Jack is much smaller than the person we know in Victory. He’s apparently unemployed, chronically online, and judging by Stiles’ drastic makeover with long messy hair, he doesn’t go out very often. His obsession with the podcast hosted by Frank (in the real world), combined with his frustration with Alice (apparently the breadwinner of the relationship) leads him to enter Frank’s cult project “Victory” and imprison Alice in peace. where she is the perfect wife. .
After discovering the ruse, Alice confronts Jack at their Victory house, leading to a fight between the two ending in Jack’s death. As with many other simulation-based movies, if you die there, you die for real. So Alice races straight to Victory Headquarters in hopes of freedom. With the entire Victory security team chasing her, Alice is able to narrowly squeeze through the gate that leads to her escape from the simulation. And as soon as the title appears on the screen, we hear (but do not see) Alice gasping for breath, waking up from a perfect nightmare.
Don’t worry, the intended ending Dear doesn’t work
That’s it, this is the end. This is the intended ending, which means that it is up to us as viewers to interpret or draw conclusions about what happens next. With the right construction and narration, the intended endings can be the perfect ending to the movie. Intended endings differ from cliffhanger in that they don’t promise a sequel or continuation of the story - and they’re better off for that. These endings leave viewers with an adrenaline rush, and while they paint a pretty definitive ending, there’s no way to confirm the fate of the characters.
movies like Origin as well as prisoners (spoilers ahead for these movies… check them out if you haven’t already!) have suggested endings. Will the top keep spinning or will it fall and prove that CobbLeonardo DiCaprio) woke up and truly reunited with his children? The screen goes black before we get an answer, but this allows us to make assumptions and theorize for ourselves. We know the stakes Origin and the results of both realities for Cobb as the film spends its time establishing them. There is nothing to be questioned except in question - does the top fall?
AT prisoners The climax has come and gone. Detective LokiJake Gyllenhaal) finds the kidnapper and prevents Keller from being killed (Hugh Jackman) the child who brought her safely to the hospital, albeit in the most heartbreaking and intense scene. Both children are safe and healthy, as is Detective Loki. Only one detail remains - the fate of Keller. The dramatic irony is there, as we know where Keller is, left for dead in an underground ditch, but Detective Loki doesn’t know until he hears the whistle (brilliant use of a Chekov gun, but that’s different). conversation). Weak at first, he fires him. Hearing the whistle again, he is more in tune. We see recognition on Detective Loki’s face as the movie fades to black. All ends are settled, except for Keller’s fate, but we can assume, given the nature of Detective Loki, that he will find him. While that seems like a guarantee - we’ll never know for sure.
Don’t worry darling, it raises more questions than it answers.
We, the viewers, are happy with these endings. They leave us wanting more, but with their endings they show that we don’t need a continuation of the story. Don’t worry dear just makes the audience want more. Don’t worry dear follows the intended ending pattern and has a potentially great conclusion, but fails to provide enough information to leave the audience satisfied with where the story ends. First of all, this is due to the fact that he does not solve his problems. Unlike the films mentioned above, in which the story is completely completed (with the exception of the intended ending), Don’t worry dear bites off more than he can chew, creating so many questions (the fate of Alice in the real world, the fate of Victory, how Frank’s death will affect the project in the real world, etc.) that he has no intention of returning to decide or close to. as a result, the second half of the film feels unfinished due to gaping plot holes and unfinished endings that it doesn’t tie together.
And even if all the plot holes in both realities are fixed, the biggest problem remains - what’s next for Alice? We spend so little time in the real world that almost nothing is established. We know that Jack signed up for the Victory program and agreed to take care of Alice in her comatose state, but nothing else is explained. How did Jack manage to fire her from her job, effectively kidnapping her with no repercussions? What traction Frank had in the real world and how he ran Project Victory without raising any red flags; Is the government involved or ignorant? We know that Alice will wake up in the real world, lying next to her dead boyfriend, and the complications of that are more than explained. She probably won’t know where she is or how much time she has lost - so what are her next steps? If Frank has a security team in Victory, chances are they exist in real life, so are they willing to kill to cover up Alice’s discovery? The film is so focused on Alice’s escape from Victory that it fails to establish a backstory for its plot twist. Returning to reality is only the next step, but it’s far from over. Alice isn’t really safe from Victory until she sorts out her new reality mess.
Too many plot holes and unfinished endings
A couple more minutes, dispersed throughout the film to make ends meet, would alleviate these problems and leave Don’t worry dear successful in their final. For example, it’s possible that the government (assuming it’s not involved in Frank’s exploits, to begin with) discovers how Project Victory works in the real world, and this discovery launches an FBI investigation. Their search can be interrupted by Alice’s, which results in them rushing to Jack’s apartment (or wherever the simulation is running) when Alice wakes up. The ending may stay the same, but viewers will be able to guess the best outcome for Alice, gasping for air, as we know she’s in good hands.
Possible endings aside, Don’t worry dear ultimately it was necessary to focus on external events in reality and Alice’s escape from Victory. Once the twist is revealed to the public and we are now in a trap, the real world matters just as much as Victory, and if both realities were used it would make a huge difference in the messy pace of the final act. .
In its current form Don’t worry dear ends prematurely, right in the midst of its climax. He has the right idea, an attempt to end on a note that evokes feelings of excitement, hope, maybe even fear, but fails for lack of completion. The sense of fulfillment the film was aiming for is met with confusion instead. Burning questions related to both the real world and Victory go unanswered and leave a feeling of emptiness and incompleteness as the credits roll. Alice may have escaped Victory, but her journey to freedom, like the plot of the film, seems far from over.
Source: Collider
