Olivia Wilde’s new film, Don’t Worry Darling, has sparked conversations regarding the s^xual scenarios featured in the movie.

The retro aesthetics of the film feature what is referred to as “heavy petting,” with no penetrative s^x shown between the two main characters, played by Harry Styles and Florence Pugh.

Wilde has stated in an interview that “Men don’t come in this film,” which is a feminist sentiment, but it doesn’t quite fit the context of the movie.

The s^x scenes in Don’t Worry Darling have become one of the most discussed elements of the movie amidst its chaotic release.

Wilde has focused on highlighting the female pleasure in the movie while Pugh has stated that she does not want to be reduced to mere chatter about being eaten out by the “most famous man in the world.” However, these s^xual moments fail to deliver within the context of the movie, which is meant to be an allegory about the weight of patriarchy.

Pugh plays Alice, a housewife, who is initially happy with her life with her husband Jack, played by Styles.

Jack works at the Victory Project, which is a threatening-sounding entity.

Alice takes ballet lessons, shops, sunbathes with friends, cleans the house, and cooks breakfast for Jack every morning.

Despite being a cheery housewife, Alice starts to have strange visions and grows suspicious of her perfect life, leading to the reveal that Jack has trapped her in a Stepford cosplay where women are entirely subservient, and men are revered as titans of industry.

Wilde’s intention to show her protagonist’s desires being catered to is admirable, but her announcement that she has directed a movie where only women orgasm seems less based on the story and more on the statement she’s trying to put forth.

If Jack is genuinely the villain he turns out to be, it’s unlikely that he would be so indifferent about not getting himself off.

Wilde’s disinterest in Jack’s s^xual drive outside of his seemingly boundless desire to please his spouse makes the patriarchy seem less threatening.

Wilde’s fascination with the film’s period aesthetic, which takes inspiration from the ‘40s through the ‘60s, is a problem with the movie that goes beyond the s^x scenes.

The supposed nightmare portrayed in the movie appears to be very pleasant, without Wilde interrogating the film’s period glamor.

Wilde and cinematographer Matthew Libatique continue to showcase how beautiful everything looks.

Despite the big reveal, audiences would likely attend a Don’t Worry Darling-themed costume party, or even choose to live in the Don’t Worry Darling universe.

The film’s villain, Jack, fails to feel real, and it appears that Wilde is too cautious to turn him into a true villain.

Styles doesn’t quite have the acting chops to embrace menace fully, leading to Jack being either a dream husband with no s^xual needs or an avatar of evil.

The lack of nuance is also why the s^x scenes fall flat, with the big cunnilingus sequence feeling entirely performative, choreographed too precisely, and lacking heat.