Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) is a doctoral candidate in the astronomy department at Michigan State University. One morning, as she listens to Wu-Tang Clan, she discovers a comet–and this discovery is incredible. Her professor, Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), as a result of her findings, begins running numbers, only to find out that the comet (five to ten kilometers in size) is headed straight for earth. They take this information to the president (Meryl Streep), but she is underwhelmed with what they have to say. So, the two low-level scientists take their veritable show on the road to warn people about their impending doom–and maybe the best advice that the world can be given is Don’t Look Up.
I’d be lying if I said that Don’t Look Up didn’t infuriate me from beginning to end, because it did. Much of the film revolves around the idea of miscommunication–and while that can sometimes be used as a device by which to deliver comedy, the miscommunication present throughout this film is far more frustrating than anything I’ve seen before in a narrative piece like this. The purpose of the film is to, by way of political satire, explore and define the limits of human existence and what our vanity, restlessness, and inability to focus mean for our collective future. Writer-director Adam McKay and writer David Sirota use this particular method for delivery because it most accurately represents the way in which people respond to adversity, and that realization is part of the reason Don’t Look Up is so frustrating. I thought to myself that I struggled to build an emotional connection to the film–but that’s not really the case. While frustration may not technically be an emotion–it is an emotional response, and, as I’ve said, I was frustrated throughout my viewing. With all of this being said, it’s fair to say that the ability of the film to aggravate me is a testament to what McKay and Sirota bring to the table in terms of writing and direction.
The ability to navigate the human psyche is something I never expected from McKay–if I’m being honest (and that comes as a result of his previous works including The Other Guys and Anchorman). That’s possibly an unfair assumption–but nevertheless I believed that a writer/director (while immensely successful in the past) with his track record of asinine comedy would fail to reach viewers on an emotional level–but boy was I wrong. This is almost a new beginning for the renowned writer, director, and producer, as he’s now opened himself up in the minds of the Hollywood elite to greater things in the world of cinema; and I believe that McKay will find more success through the future of his career.
The simplest and most concise way to explain Don’t Look Up is as follows: beautifully written and antagonistic. There is so much more beyond these simple facts, however, as the film causes everyone to question their political views, and it begs them to form their own opinions on everything. Don’t Look Up is groundbreaking in the sense that it blurs the lines between political parties and doesn’t look down on one political view (for the most part), but rather expresses better ways in which we can approach the world of politics as a whole and as a group. In the past few years political groups have been ostracized by media outlets, social media sites, and opposing political groups, but Don’t Look Up aims to avoid those harsh realities and bring people together rather than draw them apart. I believe that the film finds success in this field until its final act. In the closing moments of Don’t Look Up, as all that has been discussed begins to come to a head, the political views of those in charge of the film are made clear–and those beliefs are strong and divisive. Regardless of your views, it seems unnecessary to so harshly divide political parties after having done such a wonderful job of remaining semi-neutral throughout. This aspect, the final act of the film, ruins much of what had been developed–and it is sure to ruin the experience for many viewers.
DiCaprio is brilliant once again. His performance as Dr. Randall Mindy is one of his best to date because he steps out of his typical role and becomes far more reserved than he has been in past performances (with instances of aggressive brilliance), and seeing this type of range confirms an idea that I’ve subscribed to for years–that Leonardo DiCaprio is the best actor of our generation (and simply one of the best of all time). Don’t Look Up showcases the talents of many massive actors in Hollywood, including Timothée Chalamet, Tyler Perry, and Cate Blanchett, but what it does even better is present to the world the immense talent of DiCaprio. However, the fact that Don’t Look Up is able to include such an incredibly high number of well-known actors without any stepping on the others is impressive. It seems like casting and divvying up screen time must have been something of a balancing act, but nothing ever feels forced, out of place, or inorganic in terms of chemistry or screen time for the actors.
Don’t Look Up is infuriating, and it antagonizes viewers from beginning to end. There’s no sugarcoating the fact that the film will aggravate viewers around the world, but the aggravation is necessary and essential to the success of the film. Don’t Look Up begs viewers to look introspectively and analyze who and what we are as individuals and as a whole–and causes us to ask what we can do to make things better. The film presents viewers with a number of existential crises and a way to make a positive change in the world. Beyond this nature of the film (and if you’re able to look past the damning political narrative throughout the film’s final act), beautiful acting, a compelling story, and a somewhat immersive experience bring Don’t Look Up to life in an incredible way.
Directed by Adam McKay.
Written by Adam McKay & David Sirota.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Kid Cudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, Michael Chiklis, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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