Don’t Worry Darling — The Tie Did It
I watched this last night. I’ve been looking forward to this one — not just because of the PR hijinks that have gone on recently, but since Florence Pugh was attached. I’ve been a fan since Lady Macbeth. She takes characters that you believe you understand and they unfold to a multi-layered character that makes you learn something about yourself. I clapped for her bravery in Lady Macbeth. I cheered along with her at the burning of the bear in Midsommer. I understood her decisions clearly in Little Women.
She chose to star in a vehicle about Stepford wives out in the middle of what looked like Area 51. I was here for it.
I’m not going to summarize the film, I’m going to rant about what I took away from it. Let’s get to the most important parts for me:
Table War
If you feel that something isn’t right and you’re seething, but you find yourself in a room full of people and you’re the host, what do you do? These moments of conflict are what I live for in films, but they’re also what I examine about myself once the dust has settled.
The dinner party scene was a perfect set-up. Two people sitting opposite each other know more than the other players. They have an argument about something surface, but the layers behind the disagreement are only known to them. You may have someone sitting to the left or right that know a tidbit or two, or even a piece you’re missing, but they’re not part of the dagger throwing.
I watched the dinner scene and I had an appreciation for Chris Pine. His subtlety allowed for the magnitude of the gaslighting in the scene.
This is where the film made me think about myself. At this point, there would be violence. Anything on that table would be a literal dagger. It also made me wonder if the classifications of the participants at the dinner table were examined for anger management. Did Frank review new employees and do a background check before allowing them into Victory?
I was at a get together that I wasn’t too happy about. The air was heavy with heated discussions that had occurred prior. Like I had predicted, my personality was fully clocked by all of the participants. It’s hard to casually start a conversation when everyone at the table is expecting you to strike. To add injury to insult, someone had (innocently?) forgotten my allergies and placed slivers of salmon under a bed of rice that I was served. Halfway through the meal my throat started to close up and my face started to swell.
If you’re ever in this situation and don’t have Benedryl at hand, a dark coffee will help open the throat so you don’t stop breathing. I sipped on that hot drink I didn’t like and continued with the meal. That’s the strength that Pugh has as an actress. The dinner party scene took me straight to that meal I had experienced and back to her and I decided for myself what I would have done in the same situation.
The Tie
In the year 2022 I am still a mess for men’s fashion. There is a scene that is dedicated to Harry Styles removing and putting back on his tie. The sound of a wool tie sliding across the collar of a crisp, cotton shirt is still so overpowering to me that I initially missed the meaning of what Style’s was saying in that scene.
I liked what he brought to the film. There’s no doubt that he is beautiful to look at. I can only imagine what it’s like to be around him in person. Add the ties and what I’m presuming is a clean, rosewood scent and anyone can understand wanting to cook a pot roast for this man every night.
The scene with the tie is what brings this character together for me. Let’s go back to what I said about anger management. I can’t help but imagine what an actor with a history of volatile roles would have done with this scene. The removal of the tie wouldn’t have been as beautiful, but it would have tied to the eyes stronger for me in the end had it been the other guy.
I don’t think there is any dimension where Harry Styles ever wonders if he’s loved. Regardless of where you put him and what he’s wearing, he’s always going to be Harry Styles and it was hard for me to look away from that. I don’t think it’s his fault, I believe as the viewer, it’s up to me to shut that out, but every time he smiled, well, watermelon sugar.
I’m ending this with the words of a repentant man I recently heard on a podcast. It’s about celestial mathematics. Once we have experienced the death of our egos, we can begin to live for things deeper and more meaningful than our art. I agree with that.
