The past few weeks have been marred with the discussion of Olivia Wilde's second film, Don't Worry Darling. After a shoot plagued with rumors of falling-outs between cast and crew, the film was recently released, sparking numerous debates online. While some praised the film's direction, and lead performance by Florence Pugh, others had less nice things to say.
Nevertheless, Don't Worry Darling has proven to be a box office smash in its opening weekend. The film's themes and premise have garnered comparison to previous films, as well as former projects of its cast and crew. These films are guaranteed to be beloved by fans of Don't Worry Darling, though probably don't carry as much drama.
10 Booksmart
Olivia Wilde's directorial debut came in 2019 with Booksmart, a coming-of-age comedy starring Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein. The film follows Molly and Amy, a pair of graduating high school seniors who realize they wasted their social lives, and plan to go out with one big night out on the last day of classes. As one would expect, it does not go well.
The film received glowing praise when it came out, being compared to iconic comedies like Superbad. Wilde's creative direction and grasp of the film's emotional crux surprised audiences who had known her from supporting roles in House and The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. Wilde's first go at directing happened to be an instant classic of the 2010s.
9 Midsommar
Of course, one of the biggest draws to Don't Worry Darling is the gripping performance of Florence Pugh as Alice, the film's lead. In only a few years, Pugh has built a substantial resume in the film industry, with films like Little Women and a supporting role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but Midsommar may be a tough film to top in her career.
The psychological horror film finds Pugh as Dani, a girl who finds herself at a festival in Sweden that turns out to be a thing of nightmares. It's a deeply unsettling film, largely thanks to Pugh's haunting performance. It shares a lot of similarities as a thriller with Don't Worry Darling, but may be a little less for the faint of heart.
8 Outlaw King
Don't Worry Darling also features a reunion for Pugh and Chris Pine, who previously starred together in the Netflix historical drama Outlaw King. Pine plays Robert the Bruce, a Scottish king who waged war against the King of England in the early 1300s. Pugh plays Elizabeth de Burgh, Robert's queen, who he marries just before heading off to war.
The dynamic between Pugh and Pine in this film is quite different from the characters in Don't Worry Darling. While that film has Pine as the antagonist to Pugh's protagonist, in this film they play lovers in the midst of a war. It contains a lot more battles than fans of Don't Worry Darling may like, but it's worth it to see these two actors share the screen.
7 Dunkirk
Speaking of battles, Don't Worry Darling also stars Harry Styles, who is mostly known for being a pop music sensation. After the disbandment of his supremely-successful boy band One Direction, Styles turned towards a solo career in both film and music. In 2017, he played a minor role in Christopher Nolan's war film Dunkirk.
Dunkirk may not be what fans of Harry Styles want after watching Don't Worry Darling, which is arguably his real debut as a leading man. However, it's a deeply emotional film where Styles shares the screen with legends like Kenneth Branagh and Tom Hardy, as well as other newer faces to the film industry like Barry Keoghan and Fionn Whitehead.
6 The Truman Show
One film that's been mentioned a lot in comparison to Don't Worry Darling is the 1998 comedy The Truman Show. The film stars Jim Carrey as the titular Truman, a man living a normal life until he discovers that his entire world is fake. In reality, he's lived his whole life on a TV set, unknowingly starring in a reality show watched by the whole world.
Similarly to Alice's realization that the world around her doesn't make sense, Truman begins to suspect that something's not right after a spotlight falls from the sky. There, he pieces together that his entire reality was created by Christof, the show's creator, who plays God. It's a thrilling, emotional film, and one of the best performances in Jim Carrey's career.
5 Get Out
Don't Worry Darling has also been compared to Get Out, the 2017 directorial debut of Jordan Peele. Previously known for his work in sketch comedy, Peele completely changed public perception of him with Get Out. From then on, he's become a master of creating blockbuster horror films starring black actors, which were few and far between before him.
The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris, an African-American man meeting his white girlfriend's parents for the first time. Slowly but surely, Chris begins to unravel the strange events that keep happening during his stay there. It ultimately culminates in a pretty sinister, better-when-not-spoiled twist that makes Chris question everything he knows.
4 The Stepford Wives
This 1975 thriller was a huge inspiration for Don't Worry Darling, as is evident if you only watched the trailer for Olivia Wilde's film. The film stars Katharine Ross as a woman who relocates with her husband and children to Stepford, Connecticut. Soon, she begins to discover that this entire town is populated by women who are enslaved to their husbands.
In what's likely not a coincidence, the entire setup of Don't Worry Darling is beat-for-beat a copy of The Stepford Wives. Ross' Joanna begins to suspect that something's not right with the town when a friend of hers, Charmaine, suddenly becomes submissive to her husband. Like Don't Worry Darling, the answer lies in their husbands' secret project.
3 Being John Malkovich
Fans of Don't Worry Darling may love the film's sci-fi elements, which harken back to films like Spike Jonze's Being John Malkovich. The film stars John Cusack as an office worker who discovers a secret passageway that allows those who enter to view life from the eyes of John Malkovich. Yes, that's the actual premise, and it gets even weirder than that.
Eventually, Cusack's character decides to monetize this passageway, which only complicates the life of Malkovich further, forcing him to look into what's happening to him. It may seem like a stretch to compare Pugh's suspicions in Don't Worry Darling to Malkovich's, but Being John Malkovich is taking the tropes seen in that film less seriously.
2 Fresh
Earlier in 2022, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan co-starred in Fresh, a dreary thriller with social commentary similar to Don't Worry Darling. Edgar-Jones plays Noa, a woman who begins dating Stan's Steve, only for her to get drugged and kidnapped by him. Soon, Noa learns that Steve has much more sinister plans for her than she could ever expect.
Like Don't Worry Darling, Fresh features a stunning performance from its female lead, and an even more wild and unpredictable performance from its male. Unlike Olivia Wilde's film, however, the ending of Fresh may satisfy audiences more. Without giving anything away, Edgar-Jones' character has a much happier ending (though not by that much).
1 Revolutionary Road
A big draw to Don't Worry Darling is the complicated relationship dynamic of Pugh's Alice and Styles' Jack. There are many films with relationships similar to this, particularly in married couples. One, in particular, is Revolutionary Road, a 2008 drama starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, their first reunion since Titanic in 1997.
Winslet and DiCaprio play April and Frank Wheeler, a married couple slowly breaking each other down. Like Don't Worry Darling, the Wheelers' perceived happiness by their friends is a mask for their deep unhappiness with each other and their circumstances. Plus, it's a marvel to watch Winslet and DiCaprio act at their highest capacity in this film.