Don't Worry Darling the film didn't work for me but elements of the premise intrigued me enough to want to read the original script, which was part of the 2019 blacklist.
There are major differences between the two, which are listed below.
Spoilers, naturally.
There are major differences between the two, which are listed below.
Spoilers, naturally.
- The mystery is open in the script vs. being closed in the film; there is a twist, but it's different twist. It works quite nicely in the script, whereas the big reveal of the film seems rather lazy and a bit pointless.
- There is no Victory Project in the script.
- There is no Frank (Chris Pine's character) in the script.
- Much more time in the script is spent in the present day/real world vs. the 1950s/simulation
- The present day/real world is much further in the future in the script than it is in the film.
- The themes are more fully and directly explored in the script compared with the more oblique exploration in the film.
- The script is a mash-up of Rosemary's Baby and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The film brings in many other influences such as Seconds, Abre Los Ojos/Vanilla Sky, The Truman Show, and Vertigo.
The script is no masterpiece but at least it is coherent in a way that the film isn't.