After one of the most sensational promotions in recent memory, Don’t Worry Darling premiered in theaters last month, leaving fans and critics to judge the movie itself rather than the controversies surrounding it. The questions about director Olivia Wilde and her casting choices certainly influenced fans’ perceptions of the story and cinematography. In the end, many seemed to think that the drama was more exciting than the movie itself.
Don’t Worry Darling stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles as a couple of young newlyweds moving into a “company town” in California in the 1950s. These two performances and the juxtaposition between them were a focal point for critics as well. The psychological thriller also starred Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, KiKi Layne, Nick Kroll and Wilde herself. Finally, critics also kept in mind the recasting of Shia LaBeouf and the controversies about when and why Wilde chose to remove him from the set.
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This movie has spawned rumors of a feud between Pugh and Wilde, questions about Wilde’s true commitment to feminism and rumors that Wilde and Styles have broken up in their real-life relationship. It has was also responsible for the viral debate about whether Styles spat on Pine at the film’s premiere and a resurgence in interest in LaBeouf’s life after retirement.
As enthralling as all that off-screen drama was, the movie must be allowed to speak for itself. At the time of this writing, it has a dismal 39 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but a much more forgiving 75 percent positive rating among fans. Here’s a look at what fans are saying about the movie over on social media.
Mysterious
For all the press coverage this movie have gotten, fans remarked on how little they actually know about its contents.
Disparate Talent
Many fans found Styles to be the most distracting part of the movie. Seeing him alongside seasoned actors was distracting, and many felt that his performance didn’t measure up.
Mocking Styles
Along those same lines, many fans dredged up jokes about Styles’ awkward quotes from the film’s premiere in Italy last month.
Vindicated
Some fans felt that the hate for this movie was overblown. After seeing it for themselves, they were glad they didn’t let the poor reviews turn them off from seeing it entirely.
Prolonged Interpretation
Many fans felt that it was not fair to make up your mind about this movie too quickly. They thought it deserved some pondering.
Styles Fans
Naturally, some of the most emphatic responses to this film came from die-hard fans of Styles from his days as a boy band singer.
Box Office
Finally, commenters tried to gauge the response to this movie by its performance at the box office this on opening weekend. It made about $30 million worldwide – still below its $35 million production budget.
