Adam McKay has generated first-rate satire in Don’t Look Up. Hilarious and engaging, the film mocks and problematises very relevant aspects of contemporary social and political life, and such is very hard to watch without feeling a certain pessimism.
There are three victims of the film’s satire. The first, corrupt and inept political elites who care more about their own power than the key issues facing the world. These politicians are seen to be doing the bidding of rich, corporate donors, the second victim. Finally, the media and their apathetic attitude. The media critique stretches into a general critique of a society that would rather waste its time with ‘celebrity culture’ than confront real issues.
The funniest and most important shots, I think, were the ones fired at the media. Not only were the scenes where Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Dr Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) went on The Daily Rip (a fictional news show in the film) absolutely hilarious, but they clearly represented the priority that many news shows have of being entertaining and funny, rather than confronting serious issues. The idea that two scientists who have been invited on to a news show to announce a deadly comet can or should ‘keep it light’, is ludicrous.
McKay missed an opportunity here, a chance to expose the real extent of the issue within the media. In Britain, at least, we’re not just faced with media that wants to keep it light, but one that has no problem being downright nasty and aggressive toward those who try to talk about these serious issues we face. Extinction Rebellion shared a post, after the film’s release, discussing problems with the media. A key, real-life culprit of this aggression is Piers Morgan; in one clip he seems to be berating an activist for owning a wooden bookshelf, another a TV, as if this supposed hypocrisy means nothing these women say should be taken seriously. As such, perhaps McKay could have thrown in a few ad hominem attacks from news host Brie Evantee (Kate Blanchett) to Dibiasky and Mindy.
In general, the acting was superb. It would take too long to individually praise each actor; with DiCaprio, Lawrence, and Streep I expected great things and was not disappointed. What I will say is, the performance of Mark Rylance, playing Peter Isherwell, the tech billionaire and donor to President Orlean’s (Meryl Streep) administration, stood out. Rylance is a great actor and he was able to portray a character that represents all of the greed and influence that the filthy rich have in America and worldwide. This coupled with the sort of disinterested, relaxed nature that one can afford to have if they are one of the richest men in the world, just like in real life portrayed the activism behind the movie. Why should Elon Musk care about the climate crisis? After all, he can just jet off to Mars…
This film is a damning indictment of some of the ills of our current age, and we need more films like it. I feel, at times, the critique from the media is not harsh enough. Still, the film was watchable, funny, and achieved the goal of sending out a hugely valuable social message, which is surely the highest responsibility of film second only to entertaining.
5/5 stars