By Killian Maree
Netflix has released a movie titled Don’t Look Up by Adam McKay, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. The movie is a satire, aimed at shining a light on the horrors of climate change.
The film starts with Ph.D. candidate Kate Dibiasky, played by Jennifer Lawrence, looking through a telescope and suddenly seeing a comet. She tells her professor, Randall Mindy, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who after doing the math, discovers the comet is coming straight towards the earth.
This starts a chain of events driven by Diabiasky’s and Mindy’s desire to reveal the truth about, not just the comet that could wipe out the Earth, but a government cover-up. Meryl Streep and Jonah Hill deliver hilarious performances as the president and her son alongside stars Timothee Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Arianna Grande, and Chris Evans.
Don’t Look Up feels like more of a stark warning than a laugh-out-loud comedy. However, many people have said that they do not see the parallels between real life and the tragedy portrayed in the film. On the surface level, Don’t Look Up is still a funny movie, and it is easy to enjoy without thinking about it too much.
One of the big bonuses of the movie is the type of comedy that is used throughout. McKay does a great job of incorporating dark comedy into his works, especially in Don’t Look Up.
“I think dark humor works because it breaks down what is socially acceptable and often exposes what people want to say but don’t due to social norms. The mix of absurdity and offensiveness works to create a type of humor that is loved because it doesn’t adhere to what is admissible,” said Joe Paola, a fan of the movie.
There are many who do not like the movie. Some argue,“It is a brash, absurdist satire about the incapability of our political and media classes to respond appropriately to impending, world-ending disasters” (Forbes.com). These people think that what McKay has produced is over-dramatic, and could never happen in real life.
Others, however, argue that the movie has a lot of parallels to real life. Griffin Gouck, a fan of the movie, said: “I liked Don’t Look Up because it highlighted some major dysfunctional aspects of our society. It may have overdramatized the fact that we would be unable as a society to recognize a planet killer meteor. However, in recent years with the political effect on coronavirus, it doesn’t seem to be far off from the truth.”
Don’t Look Up is a great movie for anyone who loves political satire. The mix of comedy and the impending doom of the characters creates a film that is truly entertaining. 3.5/5 STARS.
The First Launch 