I had been looking forward to this movie for over a year. 

As social media accounts I, as a Harry Styles fan, follow were raving about the new movie he was starring in and leaking videos of him working on set, I knew I had to be in the theater the night it premiered. And, sure enough, there I sat the night of Sept. 22, in awe as the credits rolled. 

“Don’t Worry Darling” follows Jack (Harry Styles) and Alice (Florence Pugh), a couple living in the 1950s community of Victory. In this neighborhood, women are unemployed and responsible for cooking and cleaning for their husbands who are away at a mysterious workplace they are not allowed to talk about. But when Alice finds herself surrounded by bizarre circumstances, she can’t help but question what the men of the community do when going to work and what Victory really entails. 

Harry Styles’ was not the only performance I was ecstatic for; the film also stars Chris Pine, Olivia Wilde (who also directed the film), Gemma Chan and, of course, the incredibly talented Florence Pugh. I could not have hand-picked a more gifted actress to star in a movie I was counting down the days for. 

The movie was just perfect. 

When plotlines began piecing together, I was in shock. The cinematography was mesmerizing and made me want to live in the 50s, despite the horrific gender stereotypes set in place. It was all perfect, something I was not at all expecting after reading Rotten Tomatoes’ critics’ reviews and hearing about the conflict that occured between actors behind the scenes. 

Yet, the chemistry between Pugh and Styles was incredible; you wouldn’t have ever been able to tell there was conflict behind the camera. 

I also love the way the writers portrayed the patriarchy. Watching Alice being manipulated by every man in Victory was frustrating. Following the disturbing masterpiece of “Midsommar,” I can’t help but wonder when Pugh will get to portray a woman who gets rightfully treated.

There have been complaints from critics regarding Styles’ acting in this movie. Even about a week before the film came out, when a clip was released of Styles and Pugh arguing in a scene, fans of Styles’ were concerned about his talent being shown in this role. While I agree music is his strong suit, I don’t think he did a terrible job in this role. His role as Jack is essentially to stand there and look pretty with gelled back hair and a suit, but the few moments where his acting does need to come out aren’t terrible. To anybody criticizing this man’s talent, I encourage you to watch “Dunkirk,” the multi-award winning Christopher Nolan film that doubled as Styles’ first appearance on the screen. And let’s not forget – anybody would look funny acting next to Florence Pugh. 

The only other complaints I am hearing from fellow viewers are coming from people obviously not familiar with the surrealist, dystopian genre, with comments like, “the ending leaves too much on the table” or “nothing is fully explained.” Those are the greatest part of movies like this – the ending is up to interpretation and leaves your jaw on the ground. I can refute any problem viewers have with the film. 

This movie was perfect, contrary to what I was honestly expecting. This movie is genuinely one of my top five movies of all time (and not just because of my love for Styles and Pugh), something a self-proclaimed film addict does not categorize often.