Contains spoilers for Don't Worry Darling
Olivia Wilde's new movie, Don't Worry Darling, leaves many questions in viewers' minds, such as what the plane was. Based in a 1950s utopia, the film follows Florence Pugh's Alice as she lives what seems like the perfect life as a housewife with her husband, Jack (Harry Styles). However, as Don't Worry Darling's story unfolds, it becomes increasingly clear to audiences and Alice that something is wrong in Victory. This causes her to look into the mysterious Victory Project, but the more Alice investigates the project and its founder, Frank (Chris Pine), the more it begins to seem like she could be suffering from a mental breakdown.
Due to Don't Worry Darling's many unanswered questions and its focus on the psychology of its lead character, audiences are left to decipher several moments, and the reality of Alice's experiences is repeatedly drawn into question based on what she sees and does. This includes when she witnesses one of her neighbors die by suicide only to be told repeatedly that the neighbor is fine. However, Don't Worry Darling includes plenty of other puzzling moments for Alice, especially when she sees a red plane fly over Victory and crash in the desert. No one else can corroborate Alice seeing the plane crash in Don't Worry Darling, leaving the believability of the event in question.
Was The Plane Crash Alice Sees In Don't Worry Darling Real?
Although Don't Worry Darling does not outright confirm if the plane crash Alice sees was real, the movie does indicate that it was not. Don't Worry Darling's ending confirms that Alice's 1950s life is a fabrication and part of an artificial reality. There is no natural explanation for why the plane would exist inside the controlled simulation. Alice does not see the plane until after she begins to experience some other hallucinations, which is a good sign that Don't Worry Darling's plane crash is fake. Furthermore, it is also important to note that she sees the red plane after noticing her neighbor holding an identical toy. For those reasons, it is safe to say that the plane crash Alice sees in Don't Worry Darling is not real.
What The Plane In Don't Worry Darling Really Means
The plane in Don't Worry Darling might not be real, but it is still a very important piece of the movie's story. Alice's search for the plane crash site is what leads her to discovering the Victory headquarters and, as revealed later, exiting the Victory Project simulation for the first time. Without witnessing the apparent plane crash, Alice might never have made such a breakthrough. This would mean that she would not have been able to become free of the Victory Project had she not seen the plane.
For this reason, the plane in Don't Worry Darling can be seen as a symbol of Alice's escape. The fake plane might have crashed in the desert, but the form of transportation helped Alice ultimately escape the simulation. It is hardly a coincidence that finding her son's toy plane in the middle of the desert is what previously led Alice's neighbor to begin questioning what was happening in Victory and with the Victory Project. The plane in Don't Worry Darling could also symbolize Alice being unhappy with her life in Victory and wanting to escape, as well as the threat that exists in the town.
Fans Have Many Theories About The Plane
Don't Worry Darling is filled with clues about the reality of the world in which the story takes place, yet the truth about the plane remains unresolved. However, this has not stopped fans from offering their own theories on what the plane could mean. One popular theory among fans is that the plane is a glitch in the artificial reality. It is suggested that this program is relatively new and Alice could simply be noticing the glitches and bugs that have yet to be worked out. Every video game and computer program has these glitches early on, and it is amusing to think that this utopia created by Frank has these same growing pains.
Another interesting theory concerns Alice's real existence in Don't Worry Darling. It is revealed that she is being kept in her bedroom against her will by Jack in the real world with her eyes open. There are even hints that she is seeing things from the real world within the program. The theory suggests that the plane is something Alice is actually seeing in her bedroom at home, like a fly or other bug, and she is interpreting it as a plane in the reality that she knows. While it would be nice to have a clearer answer to this mystery, Don't Worry Darling offers enough to let the audience think about the meaning of the plane on their own.