Despite its comic peddling, The Successity Blog found DON’T LOOK UP a most disconcerting experience: it’s not a happy watch. The premise is simple. Two US university astrophysicists (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover that an enormous comet is heading directly towards Earth and encounter a series of increasingly tortuous obstacles as they try to persuade the President (Meryl Streep) and the Nation (via TV anchors Tyler Perry and Cate Blanchet) that they need to take urgent action.
The comet is, of course, a metaphor for climate change and it is the satire that is successfully disconcerting. There are those who argue that the comedy is inappropriate for such serious subject-matter, but there is a saying in the screenwriting world that if you are going to preach, then put a tiny pill in an enormous ice cream, and this is what DON’T LOOK UP does in spades.
The obstacles the scientists face are deeply frustrating: a chain-smoking President who cares only about the Mid-Terms. A self-righteous Mark Rylance playing a money-grabbing Tech Billionaire who greedily contrives to grasp defeat from the jaws of victory. An increasingly self-centred DiCaprio who becomes entangled with the sexy wiles of Cate Blanchett. And the well-meaning but hapless Jennifer Lawrence who becomes entrapped in a tangle of social-media despair until rescued emotionally by Timothee Chalamet.
Not everything in the film chimes well. The buckaroo Army General who rides the nukes cowboy-style jars too much because it is just a little overly brash and slapstick and is reminiscent of elements of DOCTOR STRANGELOVE. And DiCaprio’s descent from self-effacing family man to self-centred, increasingly confident cuckolding Lothario is too much of a jump.
Finally, you are left guessing what will happen in a “will they-won’t they” tussle of wits. The ending (I won’t give it away) in particular is deliciously poignant and brave.
Touted early as an Oscars contender, DON’T LOOK UP fared poorly on the night. One of its chief assets is its star-studded cast, which is a carnival of household names. Presumably they were attracted to the film not only by each other, but also by the bold engaged satirical statement director Adam McKay (THE BIG SHORT) wanted to make about the world.
Will the statement DON’T LOOK UP makes save the planet? Almost certainly not. But it might give us all pause for thought that the political, social and media mechanisms in place might not be robust enough to deal with climate change. And arguably that is the most a movie can do.
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