DON'T LOOK UP: A SATIRE OF REALITY
Striving against nihilism.
"Don't Look Up" is a satirical science fiction film written, co-produced, and directed by Adam McKay. It was recently released in select theaters on December 10 and on Netflix on December 24.
It stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, astronomers seeking to alert humanity about an incoming comet that would destroy human civilization through a media tour.
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If "Don't Look Up" merits an award, it should be for Francine Maisler's efforts as casting director. This Netflix film has a slew of big-name actors, and it frequently puts them together in the same room.
The amount of star power onscreen is set up for a once-in-a-lifetime entertainment free-for-all, but "Don't Look Up" utilizes this to make one of many anti-provocative gags about how celebrity chaos attracts us more than the extinction of our planet. If you want to be unsurprised by "Don't Look Up," get used to that swell of expectation and crash of execution.
Star-studded cast
On November 8, 2019, it was revealed that the picture would be distributed by Paramount Pictures, with Adam McKay writing, directing, and producing under his Hyperobject Industries label. Netflix purchased the film from Paramount on February 19, 2020, and Jennifer Lawrence was cast in the picture. Cate Blanchett was announced to join the project on May 12, 2020, and Rob Morgan in September 2020.
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Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Himesh Patel, Timothée Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi (Kid Cudi), and Tomer Sisley were added in October 2020. McKay developed the role of Dibiasky particularly for Lawrence and spent four to five months discussing ideas with DiCaprio and changing the screenplay before the actor agreed to play it.
Tyler Perry, Melanie Lynskey, and Ron Perlman will join the cast in November 2020. In February 2021, it was confirmed that Mark Rylance and Michael Chiklis would be joining the cast. In May, Paul Guilfoyle was named.
The catch — what it takes to get the world to just 'look up'
"Don't Look Up" tells the story of Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence), an astronomy graduate student, and her professor Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio). They make an incredible discovery of a comet circling within the solar system.
The issue is that it is on a collision trajectory with Earth. What makes it worse is that nobody seemed to be concerned. It turns out that warning humanity about a planet-killer on the scale of Mount Everest is a difficult truth to handle.
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With the assistance of Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan), Kate and Randall embark on a media tour that takes them from the office of an apathetic President Orlean (Meryl Streep) and her obsequious son and Chief of Staff, Jason (Jonah Hill), to the airwaves of The Daily Rip, an uplifting morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Jack Black) (Tyler Perry).
With only six months before the comet's impact, controlling the 24-hour news cycle and capturing the attention of a social media-obsessed audience before it's too late proves to be chucklesome.
The critics' take
Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle lauded the film, saying that it "might be the funniest film of 2021", yet it is "the most dismal, making for a one-of-a-kind experience." He added, "Writer-director Adam McKay provides nearly two hours of laughter while convincing you that the world is ending."
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Chicago Sun-Times' Richard Roeper is also fond of the film, noting its impressive choice of actors. "From Streep and DiCaprio and Lawrence through the supporting players, Don't Look Up is filled with greatly talented actors truly and truly selling this material — but the volume remains at 11 throughout the story when some changes in tone here and there might have more effectively carried the day."
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