All the rumors surrounding the start of construction of Don’t Worry Darling almost managed to overshadow the film itself. Despite everything that happened behind the scenes, Olivia Wilde’s feature film remains interesting. And very current.
Posted at 5:14 p.m.
It was the most popular event of the festival on Monday. For the first time since the publication of articles reporting a disagreement between the filmmaker and her actress (among other things), the artisans of Don’t Worry Darling faced questions from the international press. The press conference was held before the official screening, as a world premiere, of this film selected out of competition. Florence Pugh was not there.
Olivia Wilde, however, clarified that she was very happy at the thought that the actress, “a force”, she said, could come and spend a few hours in Venice, the time to stroll on the red carpet with her. Like Timothée Chalamet, Florence Pugh is currently filming Dunes 2 in Budapest.
PHOTO VIANNEY LE CAER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florence Pugh on the red carpet Don’t Worry Darling
I thank the production of Dunes 2and particularly Denis Villeneuve, to allow Florence [Pugh] to come join us. I know how much this kind of thing can disrupt a shoot.
Olivia Wilde, director
As for the controversy, it was tackled succinctly: “All the gossip, the tabloids, all the noise that it causes makes the internet feed itself, and I don’t feel the need to feed it. He is already sufficiently well fed,” she said.
The status of women
When a journalist from HollywoodReporter attempted to ask a question about Shia LaBeouf, who was originally set to play Harry Styles, the moderator immediately jumped in to say that question had already been answered. She then revived the discussion on sets and costumes.
That said, regardless of the backroom dealings and diplomatic language in an attempt to downplay the controversies, Don’t Worry Darling remains an interesting feature film, if only thanks to the parallels that can easily be drawn between the era evoked in the story – the 1950s – and ours, particularly regarding the status of women. In this regard, we can certainly see it as a social and political film.
La promotion est beaucoup axée sur Harry Styles, superstar de la musique pop qui fait ici ses débuts au cinéma dans un rôle important, mais ce long métrage est d’abord et avant tout l’affaire de Florence Pugh. Cette dernière excelle dans le rôle d’une jeune femme qui tombe dans un monde en apparence parfait mais qui, sous le vernis, en cache un autre beaucoup plus sinistre. Dans cette petite communauté construite en plein désert à la faveur d’un projet mystérieux, pour lequel tous leurs maris travaillent, les femmes, entièrement dévouées à leur homme, sont tenues dans l’ignorance et doivent suivre des règles très strictes. Certains territoires leur sont carrément interdits.
« Avec la scénariste Katie Silberman, l’écriture a commencé au moment où l’on commençait à entendre parler du mouvement Make America Great Again [le slogan de Donald Trump], pointed out Olivia Wilde. What exactly does that mean? We thought a lot about the generations of women who preceded us, but also, unfortunately, about today’s women and their freedom to control their bodies. »
Very current
It is true that, even if the story of Don’t Worry Darling takes place in the 1950s, the speeches advocating a return to “traditional” values are strangely similar to those adopted today by certain ultra-conservative leaders almost everywhere in the world.
Don’t Worry Darling is unfortunately very current, but it is also timeless. I don’t believe a day will come when the idea of controlling someone’s body won’t be worth fighting for.
Olivia Wilde, director
“I deliberately put in this film a provocative aspect and I hope that it will provoke discussion. That said, we wanted it to be entertaining first and foremost,” added the director.
In this regard, Olivia Wilde, who offered the excellent bookmark, has won his bet. The scenes of parties, of gatherings in a seemingly heavenly place, these shiny old cars all coming out of driveways at the same time, in short, the artistic direction brings back the iconography of the time in all its brilliance. We’re also in for some unexpected twists, which add to the story’s relevance. Besides the two headliners, Don’t Worry Darling also stars Chris Pine. The latter lends his features to a charismatic leader who directs the famous project in the service of which all the men of the community put their expertise.
“I didn’t make my character from anyone in particular, but all leaders like this use words as a weapon,” he said.
Don’t Worry Darling (don’t worry darling) will be released on September 23 in Quebec.