At the start of the new trailer for Don’t Worry Darling, Florence Pugh and Harry Styles are living in a 50s utopia. They host house parties, they kiss while driving recklessly in the Californian desert, they kiss in their spotless mid-century modern kitchen, they kiss in their cosy bed, and they kiss each other goodbye as Styles leaves for his job at the definitely-evil “Victory Project”.
After that, of course, everything goes sideways, as Florence Pugh’s character (Alice, wife of Styles’ Jack) begins to ask questions about their idyllic life. What are the mysterious sounds that shake entire buildings? Where do the men go when they pull out of the driveway in their shiny cars? What if this place is actually dangerous?
Judging by the preview, Alice’s suspicions take her into the dark underbelly of the planned community, pitching her against the creepy leader-figure Frank (Chris Pine) and a small army of men in red jumpsuits. There’s crying, there’s a car chase, there’s a burlesque show by Dita Von Teese. Why? Who cares? Director (and co-star) Olivia Wilde is annoyed that there’s “no good sex in film anymore”, and she’s here to fix that.
Part of this effort seems to involve Harry Styles single-handedly closing the orgasm gap (yes, “Watermelon Sugar” meant exactly what you thought it did). On a quite-possibly-related note, Wilde was full of praise for the singer-turned-actor last year, saying that he bucked an industry trend by throwing himself into a supportive role in the psychological thriller.
“No joke, it is harrrrrd to find actors who recognize why it might be worth it to allow for a woman to hold the spotlight,” said the Booksmart director. “Enter: Harry Styles, our ‘Jack’... Not only did he relish the opportunity to allow for the brilliant Florence Pugh to hold centre stage as our ‘Alice’, but he infused every scene with a nuanced sense of humanity.”
Don’t Worry Darling also stars KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll, Gemma Chan, and Douglas Smith. The film is set to premiere in UK cinemas on September 22, and September 23 in the US. Watch the first full-length trailer below.
