‘Don’t Worry Darling’ Gets Spirited 5-Minute Ovation At Venice Film Festival

Don't Worry Darling has been in talks for a while now, and for both right and wrong reasons, and this year's Venice Film Festival world premiere said it all.

Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival this evening. Flanked by stars Harry Styles, Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, and Florence Pugh — who flew in late from the Budapest set of Dune 2 — Wilde saw her film receive a spirited five-minute-plus ovation.

On Monday night, Florence Pugh and Olivia Wilde both attended the world premiere of the drama “Don’t Worry Daring” at the Venice Film Festival, but they kept their distance — almost as if they weren’t even in the same film together. Pugh brought her grandmother along for the red carpet debut. The photo op came hours after Pugh sat out the film’s press conference while on a flight from the Dune: Part Two set and Wilde fielded a question about rumors of a “falling out” between herself and Pugh.

The drama from the sets of Don't Worry Darlings followed the cast to Venice. With social media keeping up the rumors of Wilde and Pugh falling out on the set, Pugh missed the film’s press conference because of filming requirements on the “Dune” sequel, but she arrived in Venice in time to walk the red carpet for the world premiere. Wilde was first down the red carpet, followed by Styles and finally Pugh. Styles, whose powder-blue suit was surprisingly toned down for the singer-actor, was extremely attentive to screaming fans — many of whom had been lined up outside the Sala Grande, in the punishing heat, since the early hours of the morning.

“Florence is a force,” Wilde said earlier in the day at the Venice press conference when asked to “clear the air” about the rumors. “We are so grateful she’s able to make it tonight [for the red carpet] despite being in production on ‘Dune.’ I know, as a director, how disruptive it is to lose an actor even for a day, so I’m very grateful to her, and to [‘Dune’ director Denis Villeneuve] for helping us. And we’ll get to celebrate her work tonight. I can’t say how honored I am to have her as our lead. She’s amazing.” Wilde added, “As for all the endless tabloid gossip and all the noise out there, the Internet feeds itself. I don’t feel the need to contribute; I think it’s sufficiently well-nourished.”

Don’t Worry Darling follows Alice (Pugh) and Jack (Styles) who seem lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, an experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. The 1950s societal optimism espoused by their CEO, Frank (Pine) — equal parts corporate visionary and motivational life coach — anchors every aspect of daily life in the tight-knit desert utopia.

While the husbands spend every day inside the Victory Project Headquarters, working on the “development of progressive materials,” their wives — including Frank’s elegant partner, Shelley (Chan) — get to spend their time enjoying the beauty, luxury and debauchery of their community. Life is perfect, with every resident’s needs met by the company. All they ask in return is discretion and unquestioning commitment to the Victory cause. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice finds herself questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why. The film opens in the cinema on September 23.