Don’t Worry Darling premiered on September 23, 2022. Spectators are already curious about the filming locations after watching the impeccable narrative and listening to the movie’s astounding worth listening soundtrack. And we’ve mostly got you all covered with the details.
Critics gave the movie mixed reviews, praising Pugh’s performance, cinematography, and visual style. Alice and Jack live in the idealized community of Victory in the 1950s, an experimental company town where men work on a top-secret venture.
The wives get to bask in the glory, luxurious lifestyle, and debauchery of their picture-perfect paradise while their husbands work tirelessly.
However, when cracks appear in her amazing life, revealing glimpses of something sinister lurking beneath the surface, Alice is left wondering what exactly is going on.
Don’t Worry Darling: The Filming Location Breakdown
Begin, principal photography started on October 26, 2020, in Los Angeles. However, on November 4, 2020 filming was halted for two weeks due to a crew member testing positive for COVID-19, which tends to result in star-studded Pugh, Styles, and Pine being quarantined.
However, it was later continued, and the shooting was completed on February 13, 2021. Nevertheless, the film was shot all over Los Angeles, and there are numerous locations worth exploring.
The Kaufmann House
This house may be familiar to you from somewhere. The Kaufmann Desert House, or simply the Kaufmann House, is a house in Palm Springs, California, developed in 1946 by architect Richard Neutra.
The movie’s opening scene was filmed at The Kaufmann House, and it was the first movie to be shot there. Wilde was influenced by the architectural style of the house and ended up hanging a photograph of it on her wall while writing the script for the movie.
She talked about the architecture of the place and stated to an outlet, “To be there was huge. To direct the first shot there felt like this really auspicious beginning to this movie which was this love letter not only to film but to architecture, to design, to this era.”
Byron remarked, “It was so special to get since Neutra was obviously a very good reference for the design of the film.
He was a design inspiration for Victory, but also a kind of character inspiration. When you scout a location, you’re taking pictures of every single inch of the place, you’re measuring all the cabinets and all the built-ins and you’re learning what type of hinges he loves… that felt really cool, like having a personal relationship with a legendary architect.”
“We were shooting in one of the most historic buildings in California,” she continues. “The restrictions of how we could shoot it and what we could do inside were definitely the highest I’ve ever worked with. The rules actually set the whole film up with this idea of ‘we’re respecting all the places that we move into.’”
The residence has been described as “an architectural marvel that helped define the modernist aesthetic of the resort city of Palm Springs”.
The Volcano House
Another stunning location where the film was shot is the Volcano House in Newberry Springs. Vard Wallace commissioned the house in 1968 as a getaway for himself and his wife, and it was constructed by the influential and dynamic Southern California architect Harold Bissner, Jr.
It was purchased by Huell Howser, an American television personality best known for the television series ‘California’s Gold.’ Howser listed this extraordinary home for sale in 2010 for $750,000 but later decided to donate it to Chapman University.
Byron says, “It’s such a special place. It’s a real house on a real volcano and it does really have that really precarious road to get up to it. The only thing we did on that space was we took apart the deck and built the stairs that lead up to the deck and extended the deck, and then we put the mirror facade up.
Otherwise, we were pretty careful. Working with these historical sites, we had to really respect these places, and anything we did to them we had to do very carefully. That was one of the challenges, but also one of the things we loved so much was getting to interact with these spaces and making sure that we were good caretakers.”
“Volcano House was the most unfriendly place a production can choose,” Byron added. “It’s a couple of hours away, and then you have a tiny little road that snakes around that volcano to the top, and where do you put the restrooms, the trucks, the grip equipment?
Most productions would be absolutely thinking that was the craziest thing ever, but we were willing to lose the time in the logistics to get that location.”
Byron also remarked regarding the location, “Volcano House was a sharp departure from the original idea, but a truly unique one. We decided to scout it and when we drove up the road and saw it appear on the horizon, we all knew it was the place.”
Cicada Restaurant and Lounge In Los Angeles
This glamorous, art deco supper club with big-band nights serves Italian fare with a Californian twist. On select nights, visitors can go back in time to the Cicada Club, a classic 1940’s style nightclub with haute cuisine, musical performances, cocktails, and dancing on two floors. Frank’s party was held at this location.
Canyon View Estates, Santa Clarita, California
Canyon View Estates is located in South Palm Springs, between the Indian Canyon public golf course and the spectacular hiking trails to the west. These are community homes in Don’t Worry Darling. Canyon View Estates is mostly made up of midsize residences that are cost-effective.
Palm Springs Art Museum
The Palm Springs Art Museum, located in the heart of Downtown Palm Springs, is a groundbreaking and forward-thinking artistic cultural center in the Coachella Valley.
“The Palm Springs Art Museum was founded in 1938 as the Palm Springs Desert Museum at La Plaza in downtown Palm Springs,” according to the official website.
Adding, “Major renovations, and even bigger donations of art, transformed the institution, which also sharpened its programming with nationally significant exhibitions.”
Also penned, “In evaluating the current strengths and directions of the museum, it became clear that the art collections were growing and that the art audience was expanding – primarily in the areas of architecture, photography, and contemporary glass.”
La Quinta Resort And Club – A Legendary Hideaway
The location says that makes your visit enjoyable and memorable, from the picturesque setting to the hacienda-style lodging. Another lovely location was seen in the movie.
Other filming locations include The Hollywood Athletic Club, The Stuart at Sierra Madre Villa, The Dollhouse Nightclub, Palm Springs Visitors Center, and Palm Springs City Hall.
Byron says, “Albert Frey is a huge design hero of mine. I obviously love Neutra, I love Schindler. Albert Frey being part of a thriller just felt like such a cool idea. The Manhattan Project is something that was on our minds. This idea of a community that is really isolated and it’s got extreme natural beauty, but there’s also a danger.”
She added, “There was no version of us doing it in Lancaster. A lot of people might not fight as hard as she fights for things like that. She really understands the importance of an architectural space.”
What are your thoughts on the filming locations? You are welcome to drop your opinions in the comment section below.
