Don’t Look Up is a horror satire from Oscar-Nominated writer and director Adam McKay (The Big Short, Vice). The premise of the film involves two astronomers, Dr Randal Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) who embark on a media tour to warn mankind of a comet bound to hit earth in 6 months.
Adam McKay is no stranger to political comedies, evident from his Oscar-Winning (Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling) 2018 film Vice. In Don’t Look Up, he masterfully combines satire and anxiety. McKay manages to take the audience from gut-busting laughter to stomach-churning realism all within the same scene. The most important aspect to understand is that Don’t Look Up is one big allegory for Climate Change and society’s response to it. Satirising the USA’s various political factions, McKay holds a mirror up to society and warns the audience about the future if we don’t act now.
The film boasts an impressive cast. The two lead performances from DiCaprio and Lawrence are among the standouts, as well as extremely memorable supporting performances from Meryl Streep (President Janie Orlean) and Mark Rylance (BASH CEO Peter Isherwell). It is also worth mentioning that the other actors (Jonah Hill, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett, Timothée Chalamet) are all bringing their A-game. DiCaprio in particular has an eye-opening outburst towards the third act, that makes you wonder whether it was improvised or not. Either way, his ‘Network’ moment is so full of emotion, you can tell this movie is very personal to him.
Don’t Look Up has received mixed reviews over the past few days, many media outlets labelling it as “too on the nose” and “beating you over the head”. I wonder if these outlets know what satire is? Or maybe this film just exposed their ulterior political and financial agendas. In an ideal world, Don’t Look Up would be far-fetched and blown out of proportion, but our current climate indicates that it’s indeed the movie we need. We urge everyone to see this - either on the big screen, or when it hits Netflix on December 24th. Some may find this a tough pill to swallow, but that’s both a credit to the film and a caution to our society. Great performances and an expert-blend of reality and comedy make Don’t Look Up this generation's Dr. Strangelove.
Don’t Look Up drops on Netflix on December 24th and is currently in theatres, please check this one out.
Originally Reviewed for Millennial Movie Talk, by Alexander Lamb & Steph Rillo
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