Director of 'Top Gun' Tony Scott in 2010 cast Chris Pine in his action film Unstoppable. 12 years later, Pine decided to star in its sci-fi parody 'Don't Worry Darling,' where the totally unstoppable one became Florence Pugh.

The 1950s, an alternate reality. People live in beautiful, stylish homes with green lawns somewhere in the middle of the desert. Everything is always perfect: in the mornings, wives see their husbands off to mysterious work, and while the men are away, the women clean, cook, do laundry, go to ballet classes, and shop at the local mall. And so it goes, day after day. Until one of the wives, Alice (Florence Pugh), suddenly begins to question everything around her.

The trailer for the promising sci-fi film 'Don't Worry Darling' by director Olivia Wilde was filled with so much mystique, mystery, futurism, vibrant colors, and style that you couldn't wait to find out what the nut inside the shell really was. The nut turned out to be mediocre, unfortunately. As the foreign press wrote, Harry Styles — the leading man — can conquer stadiums with his voice, but he absolutely cannot act. But maybe he just got unlucky with the genre: perhaps he should have chosen a comedy? In any case, his attempts to portray grief or inner turmoil in the film look so forced that you yourself might be tempted to cry.

Chris Pine pleases here with his unexpected youthfulness and good looks. He played his role in the film well, though it's worth noting there wasn't much for him to play. As for Gemma Chan, as well as Chloé Zhao revealed her potential in 'Eternals,' just as poorly did Olivia Wilde handle her talent, even in a supporting role.

The main saving grace and gem of 'Don't Worry Darling' is the totally unstoppable Florence Pugh. This 26-year-old British actress once again worked her magic, living through the film's most diverse emotional facets and shades, leaving you breathless. On her fragile shoulders, she carries all the sluggish moments of the plot and compensates for her partner's weak performance, giving at least one reason to watch the film to the end. And the movie, by the way, lasts two hours.

Why did this promising sci-fi film turn out to be drawn-out and poorly constructed? Perhaps because Olivia Wilde got so carried away with form that she forgot about content. She created an incredibly stylized world, compositionally precise, with interesting cinematographic finds, painted it in rich colors, and adorned it with expensive things and outwardly attractive people. In addition, composer John Powell crafted an intriguing, unsettling soundtrack that builds an atmosphere of mystery and suspense. But Wilde couldn't manage the story's development: in the middle of the narrative, events and character reactions start to repeat, and the plot stalls. Some scenes even resemble commercials from a luxury real estate studio or a montage of psychedelic music videos (I personally liked them, but as elements of the story, they are not very coherent).

Olivia Wilde wants to discuss abusive relationships, feminism, patriarchy, the deceptiveness of a beautiful life, and people's endless unhappiness. She even resorts to symbolism, hinting at the cyclical nature of everything and everyone. But she does it with strokes that are too superficial in content. The result is a drama without a soul — like a candy in a beautiful wrapper but without a filling (or like an empty eggshell).

'Don't Worry Darling' has the vibe of 'The Stepford Wives' and a couple of other films about the deceptiveness of reality, which I won't name to avoid a juicy spoiler. And this sci-fi drama had all the cards and chances to win the hearts of audiences and film critics, some of whom had already given Olivia Wilde a carte blanche after her success with 'Booksmart.' But alas, by the end of the film, only two main questions remain in your head: how long did Florence Pugh practice dancing with a tray of whiskey glasses on her head, and did she enjoy the experience of being wrapped in plastic wrap?