DON'T WORRY DARLING is Total Mess | Explained

[@AmandaTheJedi]

My favorite thing about this movie is that it ffeeeellls like a movie

[@devanbarrios9216]

You mean a real go to the cinema type movie?

[@800Ms-k6n]

That's right Amanda, it feels like a movie. The actors acted, the directors directed it, the cinematographer cinematographerd it, the editors edited, the writers wrote it, the composer composed it, the boom operator boom operated it. When Harry screams "It's Styling Time", that brought tears to my eye. It's really a moment in the history of filmmaking 😭😭

[@katburgess5926]

Like a real movie!

[@MagicalPoof]

Everyone made fun of Harry Styles for saying that, but he was honestly right. It sure is a movie.

[@katherinealvarez9216]

It exists. It definitely exists.

[@Authorrlee]

Ooo 😮 the script version where Jack was a sales rep who did not know Alice personally is terrifyinggg. IMO this would have been a better set up

[@Albinojackrussel]

A mini series that explores all the different ways people end up in victory would be awesome. Like strangers and kidnapping. Known people kidnapping their partners Abused partners financially forced into victory People who go to victory willingly because they think their partners are safe and it sounds fun, and then become trapped there because they've been totally cut off from their support network Ect.

[@oluwashinaomisanya7487]

I think this idea was passed off to the characters of Violet and Bill

[@Anne_one]

@@oluwashinaomisanya7487 if it was, it wasn’t executed well. They didn’t give us anything concrete or any decent hints.

[@no_s3rvic34]

This or another scary option would be someone that she was/is friends with. Like the nice guy trope.

[@BruhWhyDidTheyChangeThis]

100000% just some weirdo stalker who kidnaps her would be wild but it’s still wild I just wish we saw her get up

[@princesse0920]

I don’t understand how Olivia Wilde tried to say that the sex scenes were “empowering” women by showing the female pleasure to sex. Like, if Alice is unconscious and trapped in a simulation built to keep her submissive to her husband, isn’t that rape because she is not physically nor mentally able to give proper consent? How is a woman being trapped in a simulation with all of her memories wiped so her husband can do whatever he wants with her empowering?

[@lauraribeiro1732]

It wasn't empowering at all. Honestly, she just wanted the most popular todays pop star going down on a girl

[@amairhapokala]

@@lauraribeiro1732 so messed up..

[@Oujouj426]

A good reminder that powerful, rich women will gladly use feminist language to get themselves either more money and/or score some brownie points with women or just progressives in general.

[@amairhapokala]

@@Oujouj426 absolutely

[@sorormimm493]

Olivia Wilde is a joke. She only said that because she wanted Styles and wanted to portray him with “sexual prowess” (because her personal feelers demanded it) and she ruined the film as a result.

[@rikkicrowder7134]

The saddest part of this movie is its huge potential. It could have been so good but they fumbled the ball at every level

[@trinaq]

Agreed, we were so excited to see Olivia's next directorial project following "Booksmart", and this was a colossal disappointment. Hopefully Olivia's next project will be more fulfilling.

[@blackvelvet3795]

Black Mirror would have executed this so much better

[@spiceupyourafterlife]

That’s always sad, when a movie could have been so much better. Hell, if they stuck with the original script, this movie would have been a 21st century Stepford Wives!

[@alex_n215]

This is what pissed me off the most, the concept was actually good but the movie failed to deliver.

[@sharpaycutie2]

The plot was dumb and making the villan her idea of Jordan Peterson was EXTRA dumb

[@Louise-wk5yf]

The original script was simpler, darker and had a tight ending. I love Olivia's ambition but there could've been better writers.

[@supagreatman2826]

Yea

[@trinaq]

One thing that irked me about this movie was how anti climatic it was. Hardly anything is properly explained, and Frank's wife abruptly killing him just came out of nowhere. She just stabs him, calls him a stupid man, declares that it's "her turn now", and we never see or hear from them again.

[@PanicMerchant]

Shelley being Frank's "subservient Asian waifu" incel fantasy could've been a really interesting angle to explore, especially if she was playing along while secretly positioning herself to take over the project from him. Really reinforce how little Frank and these men value women and how much they underestimate them, to their own detriment. Watching Frank lose everything to a woman he thought he controlled would've been more poetic justice than him being stabbed.

[@alexroy5854]

@@PanicMerchant I mean.. what if he gets socially destroyed... and then stabbed?? :D

[@anthonym6376]

@@PanicMerchant jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

[@anthonym6376]

@@PanicMerchant jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj

[@Andreamom001]

I got the impression that Frank was attracted to Alice (deliberately watching her have s3x, saying she fascinates him, seeming to enjoy her challenge, etc.) and thought Frank’s wife may have liked being the other half of the admired “power couple” and been angry that him following his “mansword”led him to allow a woman to destroy her cushy life as “queen bee” of Victory. So she killed him in anger for his stupidity and said it was “her turn” as in in her turn to set up and run the simulation of her choice. I don’t know, though. It may be me trying to read into the movie what isn’t meant to be there. That would make sense of her sudden inexplicable actions to me, though.

[@lillytaylor5752]

This might be an unpopular take, but I actually think them being in a relationship makes it scarier (and sligthly better for the plot). It is absolutely terrifying to think a stranger would pick his victim and do this, don't get me wrong, this played out in Passingers and basically any Criminal Minds episode. But having a person who is supposed to love you, who you love and trust, choosing to violate you, take away your agency and put you through this horrible situation (and really, abuse).... To decide for you that you are unhappy and what is supposed to make you happy? and for what? THAT is way more terrifying to me.

[@Aster_Risk]

It's also way more common for women to be violated by someone they know and trust like a partner or family member. That could have added to the commentary of this film.

[@carolinapistone6516]

My thoughts exactly. And it asks more of us in terms of exploring violent misogyny and patriarchal control because we can't just write Styles' character off as some random psycho. He *is* anybody, and that's terrifying,

[@nicolemontalvo4560]

I agree. Out of the 2 original scripts, I would've preferred the divorce storyline. We're already pretty familiar with stalker stories, and I think having an established relationship falling apart would allow for more exploration into control, revenge, anger etc.

[@jackcinephile7554]

That, and it's just a more nuanced conversation to have. He's trying to make her happy in her dreary, miserable life, but he's taking away her free will to do so. It makes us reflect on the role we play in our spouse's happiness and well-being.

[@alphanerd7221]

What's key to the theme and dramatic tension is that when the simulation is working and she isn't questioning things she is happy. That wouldn't make sense if he was just some scumbag.

[@moaskarab]

they just couldn't let Jack be an asshole, and that really shot the movie in the foot :/ it's sad considering how Pugh and Pine were really giving 110% into their roles, but were let down by the script changes.

[@LePetitDenu]

I agree and glad to see this comment. Pine had so little screen time but was one of the best parts of it.

[@JazzmineM]

@@LePetitDenu That’s probably another reason why Chris was so jaded about everything. There might have been great scenes left on the cutting room floor

[@nessyness5447]

Maybe they made him less of an asshole, but i would say he was still def an asshole. ( Not defending the movie though, just saying i still think jack was an asshole)

[@Anne_one]

Pine is a great actor, but his lines were mumbling nonsense. They really didn’t give him much to work with….like absolutely nothing

[@mitchellhouser1572]

I absolutely thought he could’ve been an interesting character and a charismatic cult leader and manipulator. Then they just randomly kill him and that’s that. Unfortunate because I think he did well in his scene and did give off a certain ominous energy.

[@imauri2858]

I wish they kept the name “Oasis” for the victory project. The setting of the desert would’ve made so much more sense and it would’ve been a nice contrast to how Alice feels. Like it wasn’t an oasis, it was a habitat.

[@justc1re617]

I like this but it would have immediately told anyone who is a ready player one fan exactly what was happening and I bet they didn't want to potentially tip off a chunk of viewers when a huge part of the movie revolves around that reveal

[@sophiastargazer]

Man, the more I hear about the first script of this movie, the more I get confused about why it was scrapped, because it sounds so, so much better than what we got in the finished product.

[@SoManyRandomRamblings]

The theory with the most traction currently is that it's because Harry was dating the director.....

[@alphanerd7221]

Everything they changed was for the best.

[@radschele1815]

​@@alphanerd7221not really.

[@alphanerd7221]

@@radschele1815 Thanks for showing up to be wrong.

[@4amlibra]

@@alphanerd7221Any… point to make? Support of your opinion? Explanation of the pros and cons of each?

[@larafreitas5791]

a lot of people are arguing that Jack was changed to not tarnish Harry's public persona, but honestly I think it makes more sense that they changed him because Harry didn't have the range to carry a character like that. he barely had the range for the Jack we got

[@heehoopeanut420]

yeaaaahhhhh

[@beckysuperswag]

i think you underestimate him. i think he could tap into an evil part of himself but i as a fan of him i will say i don’t like him nearly as much after watching this. his earnestness is quite sinister in this movie and i wish they had played into that more.

[@deerheart87]

He was dreadful dreadful no personality

[@nickbrown2113]

Harry is not made for acting. Great singer tho. He is human and cannot be perfect in everything. He should have focused on acting or improving acting instead of Wilde. But that’s just my opnion

[@MiniMeags]

I completely disagree with this. I think you’re underestimating him MAJORLY. The scene where he snaps gave me fkn chills !

[@dannietea]

This movie probably would’ve been improved if the things Alice was seeing were about her actual life and they spent the second half peppering in what the Victory Project actually was.

[@0katsuki0]

it would have been so easy too. on my days off sometimes i autopilot put on my uniform anyway, they could of had her defaulting to clothes that look like scrubs and her husband 'correcting her wardrobe', she could of started small talking about working at a hospital before stopping herself looking confused, even small things like organizing utensils and hallucinating a surgical tools tray. edit oh no how dare i misspell a word clearly this is the worst

[@loli_cvnt5622]

You know what's also easy? Telling of and have apart

[@Z0hR]

Agree, watching the movie I thought she was a dancer in real life or something

[@Perfection_NV]

That's what I thought it was at first. I was like oh no she was this dancer and jack stalked her either kidnapped her or didn't approve of her job

[@micahcook2408]

Or have this be from Bunny’s perspective. Olivia Wilde in interviews seems to speak from this character’s perspective considering it isn’t Alice’s choice to be there. Granted, she could be inferring of the old scripts, but with the direction given to Pugh and what the final movie is, it doesn’t necessarily showcase a character battling with comfort vs change lol like she’s a literal hostage.

[@kittycattt93]

6:57 I saw Alice going after the "plane crash" as her subconscious mind kicking in because she's a doctor her instincts subconsciously told her to go and check for survivors

[@supagreatman2826]

Yeah also trying to get her out of there

[@Toonwalla2010]

Would have also been nice if it was a remnant of her subconscious. Like if it was a model/figurine she had in her apartment within eyeline of where she was laying on her bed.

[@nickbrown2113]

If a plane crashes are u not going to check on them?

[@Zelda00Gamer]

@@nickbrown2113no? Not if it that’s far away. From what I remember she sees it go down pretty far away. I’d call emergency rescue and report it. Alice doesn’t know she’s a surgeon with medical training. I’m not a doctor or nurse and don’t even really know CPR. What could I do other than hurt myself or others? It isn’t even necessarily safe to move someone in a car crash let alone a plane crash because of head trauma. I’m not risking myself or others to play hero

[@billielizeth]

This whole movie just felt like you're someone is scratching your back but keeps missing the spot that actually needs it

[@beckysuperswag]

more like when a man demands you feel pleasure when he’s eating you out but he simply doesn’t know how to do it right so instead he just makes you feel guilty and leaves you feeling sexually frustrated and objectified

[@canyounotlookhere]

Oh my god, yes.

[@briansullivan5908]

Spot on

[@olivia4394]

Exactly

[@Avalon4032]

I don't really know anything about the script or anything, but I was wondering to myself if they took out the creepy element because Harry signed on and started dating Olivia? Because the ideas from the scripts were super interesting!! Especially where Jack could've been a stalker pharmacist who kidnapped Alice, like why did we not get that movie??? No wonder Florence was so upset. I would be too if I read the script and ended up filming this watered down version.

[@handpickflick]

I am absolutely sure that’s the case of why Harry’s character is toned down even though I have no evidence lol

[@Yertle_Turtle]

I read this on the internet too, and because of that irrefutable fact I'm convinced of it too.

[@micahcook2408]

I also would’ve loved to have this be from Bunny’s perspective. Olivia Wilde in interviews seems to speak from this character’s perspective considering it isn’t Alice’s choice to be there. Granted, she could be inferring of the old scripts, but with the direction given to Pugh and what the final movie is, it doesn’t necessarily showcase a character battling with comfort vs change lol like she’s a literal hostage.

[@nessyness5447]

To be fair, the problem is not that they went with him being her ex. Because the fact that someone that you loved and trusted and shared your life with, could go and do harm you in that way is almost more scary than a stranger. But, it could have been done better

[@reneegaberielle9131]

@@Yertle_Turtle where did you read the original script?

[@brianne317]

The biggest annoyance to me was that Jack could have just gotten a job in the real world and Alice could have lightened up her work load, but instead he put them in a simulation where he still has to work and she is unhappy. Lmao

[@jacolinde4333]

Yez but thats exactly the point!!!! He couldve but he didnt saw that as an option bc hes an incel brainwadhed by consoiracy theories and mysogynists

[@user-zh9qu6qn2g]

Tbh I think this is a possible plot point-- maybe Alice was a surgeon resident instead of a surgeon that was done with school completely. In some parts of the US, residents aren't paid very well and it could explain why she works so much and (allegedly) gets paid so little. Idk, just a thought

[@dhsredhead]

True, but you also have to realize there are a bunch of people who idealize the 1950s who could just legitimately move some place with a lower cost of living and live out their weird housewife fantasy but instead constantly complain about the modern world.

[@privernd]

It confuses me to no end how he is able to afford the simulation whilst also supporting their real bodies JUST by working. I can't imagine whatever he's doing the pay is THAT good.

[@olgastepin1614]

There are a lot of problems in real families that their neighbours think can be solved with a simple "could have just"... 😞 I have noticed that both characters love to put each other into situations "I've got a serious job, so shut down, slave, and make my hometime nice! And don't you even think about complaining, slave! I love you, but I need my comfort, not yours!" Whether in a crazy simulation or in real life, the probability of such a "happy family life" ending in domestic violence and (finally) one accidentally killing the other would have remained very, very, very high... 😢

[@heatherlindsey1540]

These are my thoughts exactly when it comes to the execution of the movie. The men in the film, according to Olivia Wilde, are modeled after "incels" and supposed to be violently misogynistic, but she never shows that in her film and holds back. Men like that definitely wouldn't be centering their wives/gfs/abductees sexual needs. I know Gemma Chan was asked how she approached her character and she said she looked at women through history who've aligned themselves with dictators and authoritative men, so I think Shelley may have known the whole time she was in a simulation and was helping Frank run the Victory Project... but it's so muddied at the end you actually don't know lol

[@Yertle_Turtle]

The Incel endgame revolves around either violence vs women, self-destruction or... waiting around & egging other men towards the other two options.

[@karenlundy8189]

I think it was part of portraying incels as impotent. They are defined by a desperation to get into a sexual relationship, when the women they're interested in don't want to. This scheme to imprison them would never work if it didn't falsely convince the women that their life was awesome with the guys.

[@micahcook2408]

I would’ve loved to have this be from Bunny’s perspective. Olivia Wilde in interviews seems to speak from this character’s perspective considering it isn’t Alice’s choice to be there. Granted, she could be inferring of the old scripts, but with the direction given to Pugh and what the final movie is, it doesn’t necessarily showcase a character battling with comfort vs change lol like she’s a literal hostage.

[@zhanejackson5062]

Y’all gotta remember in order for them to stay in the Victory Project they had to keep their wives satisfied. Yes, Olivia didn’t 100% portray them as the “violently misogynistic” men. But it was on purpose. Realistically a man wouldn’t proclaim to the wives sexual needs but in this film they do. They HAVE to. If they didn’t take care of the wives to their needs they may go crazy and ruin the men’s agreement to staying in the Victory Project.

[@kemycake]

I wish they showed the scenes of the men's actual incel lives and not just jack's.

[@nataliepear7337]

No choosing to frame the sex scenes in the move, especially since they all took place as you said WHILE THE WOMEN WERE LITERALLY UNCONSCIOUS, as empowering towards women rubs me the wrong way. It almost like she's saying "yeah he did a bad thing but hey eats pu$$y so it's okay"

[@nataliepear7337]

like i lowkey feel that's why the character changes were made re:Jack I bet they just didn't wanna make Harry Styles look that bad. I 100% believe that if Shia had stayed in the movie the final character would look a loooooot different

[@beckysuperswag]

it’s rape. let’s call it what it is. there are zero sex scenes in this movie.

[@HelenaIsis616]

I wouldn’t be surprised if Harry’s PR team/agent wouldn’t let them have his character be an asshole because it would “tarnish” his image, hence, the movie (and script) we got.

[@andrabook8758]

don't try to insert your boy toy into every movie? ... that seems like it could have worked out...

[@notmak2.0]

I have no doubt that Shia LeBouf's casting as Jack prior to Harry's also made them tone down the abusive asshole character considering the stuff that came out around him

[@silcrow4045]

@@notmak2.0 what happened???

[@MindBlinged]

Well I think Jack's character got watered down because he was dating the director...

[@lalalola.]

@@silcrow4045 he abused fka twigs

[@simbasmiles5525]

To be honest, I really like that Jack is her partner. I think it adds that sense of betrayal that I think many women can relate to. I think many women can relate to the feeling of betrayal when a male friend reveals that his intentions have always been romantic and he had no interest in the woman as a friend. Ditto with SA. Far more commonly someone the survivor knows. Creepy strangers can be a threat but sadly the threat is often far closer to home. I think that this choice of Jack as her partner is truer to life and imo more depressing. TLDR: Jack as her husband is more true to life as women are abused more often by those they know than those they don’t

[@elizakarnopp8921]

Or even Jack as a close friend and confidant, someone who she trusts but doesn't have any sexual or romantic attraction to. Especially if she's established as someone who doesn't have many close friends (and is happy that way, not everyone needs a lot of friends), so he would have been a major part of her life.

[@donnamitsuki281]

Y'know someone described this movie as "they tried to do Midsommar but missed the entire point" and that's pretty accurate to me. The weird symbolism,the strange events,the cult behavior. But in Midsommar there was a reason. Here it's just weird fancy empty symbolism for the sake of interesting visuals,and the end is so anticlimatic

[@codewizard0]

Naw midsommar is way different with everything. This is just stepford wives with VR lol

[@caithenry8429]

To me it feels like an off-brand Stepford Wives remake but with VR instead of robots. But even the mediocre Stepford Wives remake was leagues above this and their rewrites to have a brain chip makes no sense when one woman shoots money out of her mouth like an atm at one point.

[@caithenry8429]

@@codewizard0 LOL your comment hadn't loaded yet when I replied but you are spot on haha

[@A2Zondeck]

“Like a white ‘get out” is what I heard it described as 😂

[@jacindaellison3363]

@@caithenry8429 and even with that, why have brain microchips to mind control the wives if they had robots that looked like them? They don't explain what they were there for. They just made things overly complicated whereas the original, it was simple: kill the wives and have them replaced wiht docile doppelganger-like robots to their liking, problem solved. What were they doing wiht those robots in the remake, cutting off their limbs and replacing them wiht the robot's perfect body similar to what Thanos was doing to Gomorra and Nebula? 😨

[@uri4263]

Harry Styles: "Babe, don't make me look like a creepy abusive stalker, I get that enough from fanfics turn to movies like After already." Olivia Wilde: "Don't worry Darling"

[@rockhistoria2537]

The fact that After is a more effective horror story that this movie is just-

[@amairhapokala]

@@rockhistoria2537 HELP

[@kk-cr4db]

I swear Americans hate nuance. I didn’t like this movie too much, but complaining that they didn’t spell out for you like for a child “THIS IS MORALLY WRONG” is so weird. Not everything has to be dialed up to the 100 to be meaningful. I actually think that not putting the heavy abuse is more powerful because it shows that doing anything without someone’s consent is extremely wrong. If he was a “classic” physical abuser it would be very easy to distance yourself from him and think “oh he did that because he’s a fucking sicko” instead of in my opinion a much more realistic message that a lot of “normal” people can be led to do bad actions if they are being presented with a certain ideology.

[@trinaq]

Why would Jack go to all that trouble not to work, if he has to get a job anyway and look after Alice to ensure that she doesn't die? How is this any better than what he was doing before?!

[@fjparasite1172]

Well for he is in a hot place being loved and appreciated. Not being insulted and denied kids.

[@ango8466]

@@fjparasite1172 ew

[@kcpugh5601]

@@fjparasite1172 He wanted kids in the original script, not the one the movie uses. The question is still good though. Maybe he sees it as necessary and being in the simulation is his reward? Playing into his deluded sense he is providing a better life for Alice

[@fjparasite1172]

@@kcpugh5601 he does push the idea of kids in the movie and basically implies she will be there trapped until she changes her mind.

[@kcpugh5601]

@@fjparasite1172 Wait really? I didn't get that from the video. I would've thought Amanda would bring it up in the review since she compared the scripts. Like when she first said that wasn't the way they were going in the movie, but to remember that for later when she revealed the twist.

[@handpickflick]

My theory is Harry’s character got toned down because he’s Harry Styles. Maybe his agent or the director (whom he currently dates) doesn’t want to tarnish his lovely marketable image and brand.

[@Raetrospectiv]

I hope it’s not true, because that’s would be so stupid… I mean, if he wants / or if they want him to be an actor, they need to let him PLAY

[@alphanerd7221]

No. It makes the story better.

[@kaitomastuda6262]

Harry’s acting was just- Uhhhhhhh felt so weird especially when he’s mixed with all these huge and amazing actors

[@800Ms-k6n]

From all talented actors that are available and have more experience, can't believe they went with Harry 🤦‍♂️ I'm a fan of his music, he's a very talented singer but man acting does not work for him

[@jolakristin281]

Im a Harry Fan and yes i agree

[@trinaq]

I like Harry's acting, and he was decent in "My Policeman" and "Dunkirk", but way out of his depth here.

[@andrabook8758]

he's creepy. I don't even care about the acting so much as the way he got this role.... just hands down creepy AF.

[@msjkramey]

@@andrabook8758 why's he creepy?

[@ALROD]

There's one question that could ruin an already ruined movie: Doesn't she have any relatives, friends or colleagues that would notice she disappeared?

[@alyssabrown-carleton6173]

Florence pugh is awesome. No matter what the material is she gives it an amazing performance. I'm a marvel nerd and i love her as yelena, i hope she likes that role too

[@meggy0]

I agree, she is amazing. Her performance in Midsommar blew my mind. She just elevates everything she's in, Don't Worry Darling was lucky to cast her, could you imagine this with Cara Delevingne or Emma Watson or something? It would have been awful.

[@alyssabrown-carleton6173]

I can't speak on emma but definitely with cara

[@drfabulous2804]

She’s fine. But hardly the next Meryl Streep or Kate Winslet or Kathy Bates. She is in very bad or mediocre movies and has yet to appear in anything outstanding, and as a result her performances are passable with what she is given.

[@wolfcorpse]

@@meggy0 she was awful in that, just pouted the whole movie

[@sigh824]

I love Yelena!! She's one of the most interesting new characters they've introduced to the mcu in a while

[@daniellehyde9279]

Jack's character is basically the guy with a 50 page long list spelling out everything they want in a woman. But when you ask him what they are doing to grow and to deserve such an amazing person they have nothing to say or offer.

[@lyricholmes1827]

I think the movie is suffering from a lack of “show don’t tell” We’re told Alice and Margaret are good friends, but we don’t see that. And we don’t see Margaret’s painful realisation (only tidbits) and how Alice and Bunny rejected her after she began questioning Victory. So sad they cut a lot of her scenes. Gemma Chan and Chris Pine are wonderful actors and it would of been so cool to see more of their relationship. I definitely think it would of been better if Jack and Alice weren’t even together- and if we’re shown Alice actually being unfulfilled in the simulation (wanting a career, missing her friends and family) like my god how did Jack fake Alice’s death? Isn’t anyone looking for her body?

[@valentinegonsalves7322]

Someone pointed out how the script changed drastically which is what left some of the actors miffed. And that is ONE of the reasons the actors didn't want to promote this movie because the end product sucked... And that makes so much sense. This original script sounds like a cool high-concept sci-fi thriller. The end product is just a housewives' drama. Really? To expand on your point, imagine how cool it would be if one of Alice's friends came looking for her when she went missing from the real world? Maybe another guy/girlfriend who worked alongside her at the hospital? Maybe a cop investigating her disappearance? Maybe a parent? So someone from the outside stumbles upon Victory and causes the glitches? How about there being a GUY in Victory who didn't want to be there? Like an obsessive mother wanted her son to not abandon her in her old age? And an obsessive girl didn't want her boyfriend/husband to leave her? Or a woman who wanted to have an ex as her little plaything she could go back to anytime while pretending to be a good family woman in the real world? This guy and Alice work together to break out of Victory by mapping all their visions like a Sword Art Online or All You Need Is Kill scenario? The potential of the story is never, ever even realised. There was so much they could've done but they got caught up with all the gender roles commentary on modern society instead of making something new and out there!

[@sophiaisoutofservice]

EXACTLY!!! I completely agree you. The I feel like common sense was gone from the entire movie because if someone randomly went missing without a trace or suspiciously died..wouldn’t they have family? Friends? Literally anybody who would want to see them for the last time or to go to their funeral or visit their home. That was honestly one of the biggest things that ruined the movie for me because the entire time I was thinking “Where is this girls parents? Where are her friends? Her coworkers? Why has nobody questioned where she is or where her body is?” I feel like wasting literally an hour and a half on basically nothing this whole movie could have scenes replaced with a look on the outside world; what Jack is doing, if people are worried, the state of Alice’s physical body and how she (physically) reacts to this simulation when she mentally is not in her body. There are so many things that feel like they aren’t fully thought through that just makes the movie less enjoyable than it already is.

[@Lydia-dd9bo]

The name "Alice" for a main character in a crazy world where things don't seem real is so subtle!

[@charliec1116]

Is that sarcasm

[@valentinegonsalves7322]

The dialogue sucks and the symbolism is empty. Also, screw all the production drama, and the press, and the over-the-top messaging and how agenda trumps story in Hollywood now. WHAT happened to Jack that he wanted the Victory Project so bad? HOW bad was his life? WHAT happened? Give me something! Like at least if he was a drug addict or something? Nah. He's just an "incel" who "saw a KZbin video". What the HELL is up with Frank? What happened in HIS life that he ended up starting the Victory Project? HOW does a guy GET there, to creating such a thing? Nah. He's just Jordan Peterson... Somehow... How is this any difference than men writing bland female characters that they just want to see be the hypermasculine protagonist's plaything who gets naked every twenty minutes?

[@willows6114]

@@charliec1116 yeah, it’s definitely sarcasm lol

[@mrdad-zl9zl]

Yeah thats how I felt during jacks puppet dance, I was like oh my god how stupid do the film makers think the audience is that we needed that symbolism literally dancing infront of our faces. And then they skip through explaining actual unclear and confusing parts so thats great.

[@thedeepfriar745]

The thing is that everything this movie does, has been done before and done better in other films. Particularly The Stepford Wives and Black Mirror.

[@HypnoticCapsule]

and Pleasantville

[@tery_freak2101]

And Truman Show

[@sigh824]

and Get Out

[@sigh824]

@DOOM!you're telling me a story about someone being taken by their significant other to a place where they and everyone like them is experimented on and controlled so that they become servants to white men exactly how it was in the past, isn't anything like stepford wives

[@caithenry8429]

This is the Equate Version of Stepford Wives but with VR

[@cv8499]

I love the idea of her and Jack not having been together in the real world, and him just being some janitor or something who worked at the hospital who had become obsessed with her. Would give a lot more weight to all that "chosen wife" stuff. That way later you realize he's reluctant to leave that world, even while she's saying it'll be the two of them together and that's all that matters, because he knows that won't be the case at all. She'll realize she's basically been kidnapped and he'll go to prison. As it is, it's bad anyway since someone she loved did this to her. But it's extra creepy if she didn't love or even know him that well. And the British stuff could've been because in real life either she had been married to a Brit, who passed away or maybe she had a favorite patient who was British. We could've seen creepy janitor guy watching the two of them talk and maybe imagining a spark there, and that's why he bases his simulated self on that patient.

[@TheBanterBandit]

I just watched the movie because of this video and I liked it. I didn't think any more layers were needed to make the point. Most rape victims are raped by somebody they trusted so there's that.

[@raincandy1653]

But in my opinion, Jack knowing and putting her through the simulation is more horrifying. There's something scary about the person you love betraying you like that

[@cv8499]

@@TheBanterBandit True.

[@cv8499]

@@raincandy1653 Agreed.

[@cristinaisfan50]

That would have been better!

[@shikuthetempest]

One of those movies where the drama surrounding the movie is more interesting than the movie itself. Gotta love it.

[@thewraithwriter22]

Like the Mario Brothers movie

[@tanvidesai7004]

can anyone summarise what happened cause i am so confused 💀

[@smwatertasteslikewater]

@@tanvidesai7004 watch Jennie jds video on it Or Friendly space ninjas

[@alejandrocervantes3624]

The multiple revisions of the script suddenly tied everything together like the final piece of the pluzzle, no wonder Florence did what she did (ditched promoting the movie till the very last minute) i wonder which of the early versions of the script she signed up for before the director changed everything & she was stuck with this...

[@alejandrocervantes3624]

@@smwatertasteslikewater who is Jennie jds?

[@rajneeshmeena6502]

The problem seems to be...they had a dark plot but everyone seems to be reluctant to portray the darkness and most of it seems to be implied than shown.

[@Cruddy129]

We really grew to be too scared of taking risks and actually going through with the plans, and we later wonder why people dont like this

[@reb3578]

I enjoyed people saying Chris Pine was giving off Haymitch vibes at the presser. The most accurate statement of 2022.

[@Nsmith666]

Haymitch is such a mood

[@supagreatman2826]

I agree with u

[@nexxen2427]

That pharmaceutical rep moment in the revised script where we basically find that he kidnapped her would've been AMAZING!!!! I was pretty shocked(even tho I could see it coming) when I saw the reveal but that reveal would've been brilliant and the cliff jumping with just blackness at the end. It would be unsatisfying to think of the other woman but satisfying in the sense of Alice. Or even to find all the husbands keep them in like a communal room or something. The beating him with a golf club would make way more sense and that ending would've been a lot more satisfying when you know she was kidnapped without even knowing the guy and the 'chosen wife' line would've been a lot creepier as well.

[@miranda13c]

23:30 I wonder if recasting Shia’s role and giving it to Harry is what led to the script being heavily revised, particularly surrounding Jack and his entire personality. Kinda seems that way but I could be wrong. I’m not sure at what point the script was changed.

[@fablucia]

It also feels to me like Jack was rewritten to fit Harry styles.

[@Perfection_NV]

When I found out Shia was supposed to be in this movie😯 I love me some Shia although I'm glad I didn't see him in Jack's role...I don't know how I'd handle it.

[@jakestroll6518]

Shia has issues but he is very talented at playing both dorky likeable everymen and menacing creeps. He was absolutely perfect for the first 2 scripts. The new script was intended to appeal to Harry's fangirls fantasies, I think. Maybe that's what Olivia meant by "this is a feminist film" coz she can't have meant that about a plot that shows these women very happy to stay home and clean with none even complaining about a lack of mental stimulation or personal fulfillment.

[@Carmendot2]

Ou I would have liked him in it that would be nice

[@MsTriangle]

I never understood why they cast Shia and now that I know of the other version of the script I totally understand, ESP their comments about being abusive on set.

[@thomasdaniell4307]

What annoyed me was at the ending she wakes up and is restrained. How is she supposed to escape out of those? She didn't need them if she's sedated.

[@lilil9752]

Harry Styles: this movie feels like a movie Amanda: it feels like a Black Mirror episode Harry: 👁👄👁

[@Agnes1322]

I have to say, I disagree with you on the topic of Jack / the muddled message. In the sense that I at least like the idea behind it. I like that Jack isn't obviously mean and abusive, I like that he is telling himself he is doing Alice a favor actually, I like that the simulation actually being kind of nice isn't an excuse because Alice had no say in the matter and broken trust and consent violation isn't suddenly okay just because the end result is good. Because Jack being purely evil and the simulation world sucking just feels a little too easy and has also been done a lot better in the past (stepford wifes). I like grey areas in movies, they just executed it poorly here.

[@Sivafae]

I like that they didn't make Jack the stereotypical abusive boyfriend as well. Because like in Promising Young Woman, the challenge is that nice guys aren't good people. I don't think this is a comfortable thought for a lot of people.

[@beckysuperswag]

thank you. my last relationship was about like this and he didn’t seem to understand that you can’t make up for a consent violation with gifts and trips. and no that doesn’t make me critical or ungrateful.

[@privernd]

This 100%

[@readingjoelle2735]

It was sooo interesting to hear you talk about the scripts, I rarely see that in a review

[@steveblundell7766]

Probably because directors usually understand their material enough not to make such radical and pointless changes to it

[@lindseystein9676]

I can’t remember who it was, but another creator mentioned how this would have been better as a mini series or show & I agree. They could have explored so much more of the storyline.

[@tmntaddict]

We have a bit of the same perspective but I'll give mine anyway: Alice's sub-conscious is presenting the world to her as a dream to get her consciousness to wake up. That's why there are so many random, unexplainable observations. Frank is interested in her because she went in unknowingly and is becoming aware. Bunny chose it as a way for her brain to cope with the trauma of her dead kids. Frank's wife killed him after overhearing the phone conversation of Alice escaping because she also knew and was waiting for one of the other wives to find a way out because she couldn't also expose herself and be sent away for treatment.The husbands take care of their women's bodies in real life so the women are programmed to not die in the real world/aka they care about them that much. Why would Jack not know OR rules on cell phone use??? I know there's stuff I'm forgetting. It would be assumed that Jack would cover for her sudden disappearance and communicate with her friends & family & coworkers so they wouldn't look for her. Upon his death, I think they would find the trail leading to where she's been kept. Olivia seemed too focused on the message of female empowerment to want to include any part of Jack's abuse which defeats the purpose since Alice killed him and escaped anyway. I enjoyed Florence basically telling Olivia there are cracks in her movie. Unimportant side note: Chris Pine is better as Kirk.

[@kgal1298]

Chris Pine felt under utilized.

[@hihilt2589]

I 100% agree with the note

[@MxEverybody]

it’s weird but all the things you said you didn’t like is what I enjoyed. The fact that he is so charming and an actual partner makes the betrayal all the more horrific. It’s like any man can be brainwashed into this kind of thinking

[@user-of5mj5nl6r]

Yes I think that too!

[@heehoopeanut420]

Men do, quite often. Teens and young adults especially :( Worked at a summer camp and I've witnessed so many young boys get regected badly ONCE and then they spiral down a gross incelly rabbit hole. Remember fellas, we're ALL capable of being manipulated by propaganda.

[@aeganratheesh]

@@heehoopeanut420 same applies to women too, you 304

[@lizschannel8046]

I don’t think it’s the piece of trash that everyone claims it to be, I just think it’s a bit of a mess and full of wasted potential, but I didn’t hate it, in fact I thought about it a lot after seeing it, mainly because that (with you all the time) song was stuck in my head, but I thought about, how it could have been made better. 1. I think it’s an interesting notion that some people are there voluntarily, whilst others are held against their will, they should’ve built on that, instead of just telling us right at the end. 2. It made no sense to have him unemployed in one part of the film, and then employed in the next part, especially if that was the catalyst that led him into doing this. They both should’ve met in medical school, but her career blossomed and his didn’t or he dropped out completely, or even have him work in a different field but was making significantly less than her, and felt “emasculated” about it. 3. They should’ve made it more like a cult, all the men worked for the victory project, they have to sign over all their money and property to Frank, to show their devotion to the cause, as well as recruit other men, and that’s how they’re able to live and pay to be in the simulation. 4. It also would’ve made more sense if they were in a victory project facility, instead of just in their apartment, especially because after a while people are going to be looking for a missing surgeon, and guess where they’re gonna look first. Plus by putting them in a facility, it would explain how she hasn’t died after week with no food and barely any water, because the only thing that she seems to be attached to, is an IV full of drugs. 5 . I think the continuous shaking and flashes of the dancers could’ve been explained as, Alice trying to fight the simulation, which could also explain why Frank was so interested in Alice, because she was clever and she kept fighting it, and he saw it as a challenge to his system. 6. The ending where Gemma stabs Chris, it seemed to come out of nowhere, what they should have done was, make the victory project her idea or both of theirs, but he twisted it, gained control and now she’s a victim to it too, like Serena in the Handmaids Tales, it would explain why she said “it’s my turn now”. I mean I could go on, and that’s my point when you start making up your own story just to fill in the gaps of something you’ve just watched, it’s not a great. I think it could’ve worked better if it was a TV show, each episode focused on a different couple, and if it was written cleverly enough we could still have the “twist” ending, and just like Westworld (RIP to that show) instead of different parks, there are different eras of time and with that, different forms of control. I don’t know I’m not a writer. At the end of day they didn’t flesh out plot lines they clearly set up, but if it was a TV show maybe they would have time, and could retcon the mistakes made in the film.

[@poeticsparrow]

I actually think #3 is in the movie, Jack's job out of the simulation is working for Frank and recruiting others and even gets a promotion. I also think it's implied that they were separated before Jack forces her into the simulation. Which I believe is part of why he does it. He gets Alice and a job and Jack justifies it all because Frank is a cult leader.

[@lizschannel8046]

Oh maybe I missed that, would’ve been better if instead of spoken in dialogue, Jack should have introduced one of his new recruits. Oh it’s definitely a cult, especially the way that Nick Krolls character spoke about Frank before we him, but the way it was shown especially with incel version of Jack, it just seems like he had been radicalised, rather than being brainwashed into a cult to me anyways.

[@zhanejackson5062]

2. It makes perfect sense, in the real world Jack had no job and Alice was working extremely hard to make up for it. They just switched the roles in the experimental world, where this time Jack is getting a promotion and Alice is kicking back doing ideal wifely things. 5. I didn’t catch on at first it took more thinking, but the dancers were just a catalyst way of ensuring the wives stayed in the right mindset. Which is why they implemented the quote “grace is beauty, grace is symmetry, everything is fine”. Meaning being like all the other wives (acting like everything is fine and being the same as everyone else) will put them in a peaceful mindset. 6. Gemma stabbing Chris definitely didn’t come out of no where, you can tell in her actions how bitter it was being there. Which is why she got upset with Alice when Alice was figuring shit out in her speech. Gemma didn’t know Chris, they didn’t have a pre existing relationship. Which is why it’s hinted that as Chris being the leader of everything going on, Gemma herself couldn’t be the one to revolt. Her stabbing Chris showed her true colors that were subtly hinted in her aggressiveness.

[@Aster_Risk]

@@zhanejackson5062 You are defending this movie way too hard.

[@Shatterspeed]

I like that she was running toward the plane crash because I think we all were like, "Okay Sally Homemaker, go save someone 🥴," but saving people is what she's trained to do. I'm going to be looking up fanfiction to hopefully get the ending we all deserved (by which I mean, an ending at all).

[@jonfreeman9682]

Well the ending is she drove to the temple and broke free of the virtual reality and is now back in the real world presumably next to the guy who may be dead... or not.

[@alphanerd7221]

The ending is certainly an ending.

[@VintageVanilla]

@@alphanerd7221 A completely trash ending.

[@alphanerd7221]

@@VintageVanilla That's your mental shortcomings showing.

[@VintageVanilla]

@@alphanerd7221 Eh, I'm not fan of most of the ending at all, really thought we'd get some closure.

[@KTplease]

The subtle link to MLM structure is actually a great metaphor for the Victory concept: It isn’t sustainable. It crumbles. MLMs sell the DREAM of a LIFESTYLE that can’t be attained.

[@zkarebear]

Amanda is like a movie Mom “You weren’t bad, just disappointing”

[@supagreatman2826]

Yeah

[@Zenlore6499]

“I was expecting so much more from you.” Yeah, movie. That’s what *we’re* thinking about *you.*

[@supagreatman2826]

Lol

[@tornapart]

THANK YOU! You’re like one of the only youtubers who has addressed the glitches in this movie and the fact that they don’t need to be explained narratively speaking. Everybody has been going insane on those being like OMG SO MANY PLOTHOLES XD

[@Im__Andy-f6x]

this movie definitely feels like a movie

[@DrGregoryHouseIT]

And the movie it feels like is The Stepford Wives (1975).

[@katie2275]

Like a proper, go to the theatre, movie

[@emilytretyak2534]

While I do have many issues with this movie I actually liked the fact that they were a loving couple and before the glitches Alice was happy in the fake world. It makes Jacks psyche and motivation much more interesting (not that they do a good job exploring it) but it also highlights the idea that happiness isn’t always everything. It reminds me of what 5 says in Umbrella Academy “I’m not looking for happy.” I think that’s a fascinating premise to explore in this world, the cost of happiness and if it’s worth it to each individual. For Bunny and Jack it is all they want but Alice values something more than her personal happiness. It also reminds me of a dark mirror version of the Miracle on 34th street quote “which is worse, a lie that draws a smile, or a truth that brings a tear?” Those premieres could’ve been explored and done so great set in this world but sadly we didn’t get that.

[@kayredhawke1522]

agree with everything you said - there was SOOO much potential but they didn't do enough to actually set the scene for where we ended up. im so sad after seeing the OG and revamped scripts - they seemed to tell the story so much better and we would have gotten a much cleaner story

[@umlautsoup7549]

I love that you always go the extra mile and shared the scripts (and in other videos, the books)-totally recontextualized what the actual themes were

[@800Ms-k6n]

Harry Styles' performance made Tommy Wiseau look like Daniel Day-Lewis. Whenever Harry tries way too hard, it gave me the "You are tearing me apart Lisa" vibe 😂😂

[@magdalenalopez4476]

And the funny thing is that he himself said something along the lines of "I don't know how to act" lol Olivia Wilde really just wanted her Bae around 😂

[@hermunkulus]

Oh hi Florence!

[@800Ms-k6n]

@@hermunkulus Hahahaha what a story Florence, anyway how's your sex life?

[@giraffe7604]

I made the exact comment while watching! "don't be hysterical" should be memed a la The Room

[@ninamasson3866]

@@giraffe7604 I've seen a lot of people quote "I gave you all of this Alice!!" and they'll had the frown face emoji lmaoo

[@Victoria-yo6pm]

I always got the “behind every successful man is a strong woman” with Shelly and Frank. Like it seems she knew something was up and her husband let it all go, so it was her time to take it over

[@magdalenalopez4476]

What's with the ambiguous endings?! Barbarian gets a pass because it was hilarious but here? I needed to see Florence Pugh wake up next to Jack's lifeless body.....maybe to heavy thumping on the door. At least!

[@Sunshine_Ses]

Same! That's exactly what I was thinking

[@crystalpritchard5065]

I haven’t seen the movie yet, but based on the two scripts, I now get why Shia LeBoeuf was initially cast Jack

[@Vault_69]

Perhaps it's time for the Darling to start worrying

[@Wraiven22]

Wow reading those previous scripts makes me so sad that we didn’t get that movie instead. I wonder if it really is because they didn’t want to make Harry look bad, or maybe he just couldn’t handle that level of acting range?

[@rebekahkostecki3615]

When I saw a snippet of the trailer for this month's ago I thought 'oh they're remaking stepford wives'. I got to the end of the movie and was like ' oh it was stepford wives but more futuristic?'

[@212inspire]

Ok but honestly, the fact that they were in a relationship in the film was personally a hell of a lot more terrifying than a stranger. It’s also terrifying how after she heard Styles song and remembered it all, she was still trying to understand and love him while also melting down. To me, it is that fear is a lot more of it is of someone you love and are close with, someone you sacrificed for and we’re there through thick and thin. When he wouldn’t let go and was crushing her I think was just his final act of suffocating her that broke her out of that toxic relationship. The car scene was really really bad tho

[@murrenkelly3866]

I definitely agree on your point. I think a lot of movies make the boyfriend or husband blatantly evil and women can say “well I would never be with a guy like that.” The scarier thing is when the “devoted and desperate” man takes advantage of his partner’s trust and love due to insecurity and brainwashing.

[@magdalenalopez4476]

Also I find it strange how he was trying to suffocate her, if he would have killed her, only to have her be reset again would have been pretty good but I guess Harry Styles couldn't look like a murderer?

[@zhanejackson5062]

He wasn’t trying to suffocate Alice, he was just freaking out. If Alice walked outside and started freaking out it would’ve broken the rule of having to maintain the wife.

[@alphanerd7221]

If he's just some two dimensional villain she has no reason to be conflicted about leaving and everything the movie is saying falls apart.

[@magdalenalopez4476]

@@zhanejackson5062 I actually rewatched the scene and I can see that you're right I suppose he was just in panic mode

[@magdalenalopez4476]

@@alphanerd7221 also good point, which is why I guess she second guesses herself when leaving.

[@makaylalashe4730]

funny thing is it looked like alice was considering staying in the victory project until he started hugging/suffocating her and she panicked

[@supagreatman2826]

Fr

[@Roseforthethorns]

I want so badly to see the movie of the revised script. Like. Why didn’t they make that movie?? That had something really clear to say

[@duygubayram5485]

I actually liked that they revamped the relationship into an otherwise positive one, I think that's more inline with what abuse can FEEL like to the victims (even if that's not what it looks like).

[@c.w.8200]

So did Olivia Wilde get the hots for Harry Styles and couldn't bear to make her toy boy an effective villain or criticize the acting? The revised script where he picks a woman who doesn't even know him...damn, that would have been GREAT!

[@crystalice2458]

That's EXACTLY what I was just thinking! They didn't wanna taint his image or whatever so they decided to butcher the movie to work around him. I think this could have been a really good movie but alas we have this 😮‍💨

[@JasminMiettunen]

@@crystalice2458 exactly, I don’t think it was a directorial call on Wildes part, I think his management said he's not portraying an asshole and tarnishing his image, clean it up or he's out.

[@joshuabelmonte12]

That or she didn't think Harry was up to the challenge to play that kind of role. Of she kept Shia she probably wouldve kept that aspect in IMO

[@VincentA824]

Did it not occur to any of you that HS had his pick of roles, and this was a far from flattering character for him to play? He’s Chris Pines puppet on stage, he’s weak and pathetic, you can’t possibly think Harry or his management chose this because they thought it was a positive character to play

[@joshuabelmonte12]

@@VincentA824 To me HS is trying to challenge himself as a performer and as an actor, in a role not meant for him (it was originally Shias.) Which is commendable, honestly if he did the 1950's scenes in his natural accent, it may have been pulled off better. But he just didn't feel right for the role and now with the gossip rags coming for him and OW, that is going to play on people's minds, whether just or not.

[@KushKiki]

Wow, impressive video. You can tell Amanda really put a lot of effort into it, analyzing alternate scripts. There's a lot of content on Don't Worry Darling, but this vid really stands out. Bravo!

[@addie1080]

this move is style over substance, I wanted so much more!

[@connery6075]

It doesn’t make sense that Jack didn’t want Alice to take the pills when he knew she was breaking the simulation

[@poeticsparrow]

Maybe he wanted to believe he could handle keeping her happy. Having actually been happy with her in the real world one upon a time he convinced himself she wanted to be there.

[@alphanerd7221]

He doesn't want to control her. He wants to make her happy and control is the way by which he attempts it.

[@beckysuperswag]

@@alphanerd7221 ironic isn’t it? i think this is what the person who abused me thought. like “oh i don’t WANT to hurt you i want you to be happy but i’m not going to listen to you or try to have an equal relationship either :)”

[@superfanmusicmaker]

It says a lot that, despite not watching _any_ trailers and knowing nothing about the movie outside of the BTS drama, I guessed the twist about a minute in. So I spent pretty much the entire first half of the film internally shouting “get to the point!” before it was finally revealed. There’s only a few films I’ve seen where I was taken completely off guard by a plot twist, most of them being animated, but at least in the films where the twist is easy to guess, the films are still entertaining enough before the reveal. Whereas this one does nothing interesting in the slightest before or even after it's twist.

[@lucianacarvalho3136]

I read your comment and automatically thought "what the hell does BTS have to do with this movie??" 😂😂

[@JazzmineM]

@@lucianacarvalho3136 Same. The hold those men have on my thoughts 😂

[@Pundit07]

@@lucianacarvalho3136 They mean “Behind The Scenes” as in the making of the movie

[@stacybrenda157]

them not explainig how the victory project works really had me confused ,i really also wished they gave us a back story on frank and his wife so that it would make sense why she killed him in the end

[@haleymist09]

Where do people find these scripts? I find it really interesting to see the difference between the script and final movie, plus I've been wanting to read the script for Passengers for YEARS 📚

[@AmandaTheJedi]

The original was on the 2019 blacklist for best unmade movie scripts they release yearly, then apparently the revised script made it out there, too. I'm not sure the legality on sharing links to the revised but if you google the scripts they're easy to find!

[@haleymist09]

@@AmandaTheJedi thanks! Passengers was the same - awards for best unmade scripts. It was supposed to be creepier with a very different ending than the movie. Despite my googling I never came up with a script. Thanks again!

[@alfie6441]

@@haleymist09 I’ve never seen passengers in full only video reviews on it. The general consensus on that film is that they told the story in the wrong order.

[@bradleyelsken622]

It's often so fascinating to see how different the product is from script to screen. Pretty Woman is a very obvious example. Just look up J.F. Lawton's original script entitled "$3,000" and compare it to the final movie- yowza!

[@chai_lattes]

I remember reading the script for Passengers years ago when it was attached to Keanu Reeves (?). I think I just googled passengers script pdf and found it fairly easily.

[@ravenclawprincess8850]

One thing I can’t get over is how Olivia Wilde was the director and essentially made herself the hero to Alice and the linchpin of the story. I don’t know if she gave herself that role for the purpose of being the all important hero or that’s just the role she ended up with regardless, but with all the rumours about how she was on set I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the former.

[@isiahsingleton4648]

I knew this movie was a mess because of the stories behind the scenes with Harry Styles and Olivia wild and Florence Pugh This is basically the Stepford wives reboot this motif have done multiple times

[@fjparasite1172]

Also brutal reality vs bliss ignorance of the Matrix

[@caithenry8429]

Its somehow both the poor man's/Equate and the influencer version of The Stepford Wives

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

I think the reason all those little creepy/weird moments going unaddressed bothered me is because it felt like they were leading the audience to try to piece together all those clues to figure out what was going on, only to pull the rug out from under them with a very generic twist that kind of felt like it came out of nowhere. They spend a little under two hours building up a mystery where the final reveal doesn’t really tie into any of the build up. The revised script did a *much* better job foreshadowing that twist than what ended up in the final cut. The “it was all a simulation” twist makes sense as an explanation for stuff like the empty eggshells, the walls closing in, and her losing time, which all make sense as glitches in a simulation. Stuff like the bus driver refusing to stray from his route to go after the plane crash could’ve worked as either an NPC incapable of deviating from his programming or as a member of the town terrified to break the rules and go anywhere near the mysterious victory project none of them are supposed to ask questions about. Chris Pine’s character’s(I forget this character’s name) cult leader speeches about their community work with this explanation too, I just find it a little disappointing as a twist because I thought the mystery behind the town and their community was going to be something much more interesting. However, the simulation explanation was really frustrating with things like the earthquakes, the plane crash, all the mentions of the mysterious victory project and how they aren’t supposed to go near it or ask about it, the cult-y vibes in that ballet class and the speeches about order that Chris Pine’s character’s wife was giving during that class, those men in red uniforms, and the meds that Alice and Margret were both prescribed, which all felt like clues to the big mystery but ended up having no greater significance than “random weird shit happens because they’re in a simulation and nothing is real”. So rather than Alice piecing together all those weird things and slowly uncovering what’s really going on, the majority of the movie is just the Alice experiencing a series of isolated, unconnected instances of weird and creepy shit happening and realizing there is something wrong with this town(which should be what happens in the first half hour and is then followed by her unraveling the mystery), and then the entire plot happens in like the last 20 minutes, with her uncovering the truth by just…remembering it? Even though she just went through the reprogramming thing she just remembers basically everything after hearing him humming that song? Then Bunny, who apparently knew all along, comes in to exposit the rest of it to her and now wants to help her escape, we get a ridiculous car chase, and Chris Pine’s character gets stabbed by his wife for some reason, despite her seeming completely devoted to him the entire movie???? Nearly every single reveal or twist feels like it comes out of nowhere.. It feels like the movie is just punishing the audience for thinking and trying to piece things together.

[@alyssaakabob]

You knocked it out of the park. Princess Weekes also did a great video on the stepford wives phenomenon. Would also recommend

[@ashlieearl3617]

Love that you discussed the original scripts and revisions. I haven't see any other video essays discussing these points and it was really interesting to see what could have been.

[@superfanmusicmaker]

I can only assume that Harry Styles got the same advice Gal Gadot did in Wonder Woman - just stand there and look pretty while Chris Pine does the real acting.

[@800Ms-k6n]

Gal is a far better actor than Harry. Atleast Gal is quite charismatic as Wonder Woman unlike Harry and in the first movie she was actually pretty great, in WW84? Yeah it was a weak performance and that's mostly because of the bad writing than her

[@superfanmusicmaker]

@@800Ms-k6n "KAL-EL, NO!" They’re both terrible. There are a few singer-turned-actors that are even worse than Styles, but Gadot is by far the worst actress currently working.

[@800Ms-k6n]

@@superfanmusicmaker I know, I know you're gonna say that, that's mostly due to weak direction and writing that affected her performance. But other than that, if you just look at her solo movie (the first one only), you can tell that she can be great as Wonder Woman as long as the material is great. Josstice League and Wonder Woman had a different material, one is bad that affected the actor's performance, and the other one was great that pushed the actor's talent a lot more. Is she great? No, is she bad? Nope. Gal is definitely not worse than Harry, as I say, Gal is still charismatic and likeable enough unlike Harry who's acting chops is still very weak

[@superfanmusicmaker]

@@800Ms-k6n When she gives the worst performance in literally every movie she’s in, regardless of writers or directors or even her co-stars, then she’s a bad actress.

[@800Ms-k6n]

@@superfanmusicmaker Lmao, that's only in Josstice League and WW84 due to the material but something like the first Wonder Woman, idk where's the terrible on that. One Wonder Woman World War I action scene alone is way better than anything Harry has done in this movie 😂

[@melissak8419]

I agree it would have been good as a series or either a limited series, more on the backgrounds of the couples and the Victory Project. It was like Stepford wives meets Black Mirror,

[@blaisetelfer8499]

I anticipated this. 99% of the time, when a movie has so much controversy surrounding the production that there's a new "scandal behind the scenes" headline about it every week, the controversy is manufactured as a form of publicity. It's extra publicity with no extra cost, as well as a way to get people to see it and mask the mediocrity of the final product.

[@Alice-me2qk]

Can you name a film where controversy has actually helped a film?

[@pixiegasm]

Everyone’s so surprised about Franks wife killing him abruptly but when I watched it the second time she kills him right after it’s revealed that Dr. Collins has been killed, so I understood it as she was aware the whole time and Frank can no longer lobotomize or perform any procedures on the women in the film since the doctor had died

[@shainewhite2781]

Yes, Amanda. I've been asking myself the exact same thing: WTF happened to this movie!?

[@toddhollen]

What the spitting looked like to me was that Styles might have spit a little, but by accident, and Pine saw it and realized it was an accident and awkward so they both just silently decided to pretend it didn't happen. I thought I saw sometime fly threw the air and then Pine looks down like "wait what was that? Oh. Oooh. We're just going to ignore that and I'm sure no one else saw or was filming and we'll never speak of it again." Or nothing happened. That's also possible.

[@Danmeilover69]

The revised script sounds so much better than what we got.

[@GM-vr4eb]

I really appreciate you comparing this movie with the original script. I'd like to see more of these. I wonder which movies have such notorious changes where the script had a much better story (that are not the DCEU movies lol)

[@meganh.6233]

Well, my main takeaway is that this movie was definitely a movie. Also, Florence Pugh is a goddess, just the facts.

[@Louise-wk5yf]

Me and my friends just rewatched this today and realized that the scenes where Alice was suffocating means that she's basically dying in the real world (the reveal shows she's basically a vegetable), thus there's a voiceover of Jack telling her to breathe.

[@nadia-selasekpenge2098]

I chuckled at the chosen nationality part too.

[@fable23]

Disregarding the weird IRL drama, this strikes me as a pretty classic example of a script with tight writing, cohesive themes, and a fairly strong narrative, that unfortunately lost itself through rewrites and revisions. The writing equivalent of Death by a Thousand Cuts - you change little things here and there, thinking none of them are that big a deal, and you're right... sort of. _Individually,_ none of these deviations matter all that much, but in _aggregate,_ little by little, they pull the movie so far off track that it winds up completely lost.

[@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155]

I had no clue there was drama around this. I prefer to stay out of media drama since it helps me enjoy media more

[@800Ms-k6n]

Trust me, it's a lot more entertaining than the movie instead. Olivia probably used the behind the scene drama to gain more publicity for the movie

[@Perfection_NV]

I actually liked this movie and its better on repeat watches. I even want to read the original screenplay. Its a mix of the stepford wives, surrogates, black mirror.

[@abbypierce4196]

My BF and I saw it at a theater that served cocktails and uh….we had an absolute ball of a time. 😂 We knew about the shit show prior so our expectations were low. We LOVE Florence in it but my god it was hilarious.

[@albuszx]

I love that you brought up the scripts and allowed us to compare the scenes in multiple versions! Fantastic review, both fun and poignant, and I agree that softening up the husband (plus all the sex, and I suspect the two aspects are connected) derailed the narrative to the point of making the film muddled

[@blackcatkai]

someone flesh out those scripts, keep it more thriller-leaning, release as a novel. I WILL EAT THAT SHIT UP 👏🏻👏🏻

[@Ty-mu7gl]

I was watching the movie on HBO with a couple of friends the other night. Halfway through it something in a scene reminded us of something else and we paused it, ended up talking for an hour. We literally only resumed and finished the movie because we “might as well do”, but none of us cared to know the ending at that point even if an entire hour was left still. Our conversation was way more interesting lol

[@Soladat]

Man, i was so pumped for this movie from the first trailer. 50's psychological horror with Chris Pine being hot? I was so excited and then. just one by one with all the stories and the drama and the tidbits of the movie getting out it was like I was falling down the stairs hitting my head with each story. Really wish they stuck with the original script. And also didnt involve harry styles.

[@creamytouhou]

Yeah, the bit about it being a feature-length Black Mirror episode was something I was saying at the trailer and was 100% confirmed after watching it

[@joshuamoore8560]

The scene where Harry sings to Florence's unconscious body would've been better if he sang: "My girl wants to party all the time, party all the time, party all the tiiiiime..."

[@woodificould]

So this sounds like a similar take to The Stepford Wives, but I'm not seeing anyone online drawing these parallels. Did I make that up or are these two movies similar in their plots/messages?