…the Metacritic rating is almost always lower than that of Rotten Tomatoes, which tends to be slightly friendlier. It’s therefore surprising that Metacritic’s Don’t Worry Darling rating (48%) is higher than that of Rotten Tomatoes (43%).
From Glenn Kenny’s 9.5.22 review:
“Auteurism has always held that certain directors were able to exercise a style which imprinted their personality upon their movies. In this respect, Darling really is an auteur picture, replete with traits Wilde has let fly in recent interviews.
“It’s pompous (in its on-the-nose didacticism), humorless (satire doesn’t have to be funny, true, and this is one unfunny satire), condescending (the racial dynamic here, in which the sole Black female with a speaking part is relegated to a martyrdom prop, is a doozy), entitled (the recurring Busby-Berkeley-meets-Carnival of Souls bit has no utilitarian value, save saying ‘nightmare’).
“On the other hand, every now and then it latches onto a groove of narrative momentum and goes with it to some purpose. The premise might have made for a memorable episode of Rod Serling’s Night Gallery. This picture is nearly two hours, so that’s a problem right there.”