DON’T LOOK UP (2021)

Review: ★★★★

Genre: Comedy/Disaster

Duration: 145m

Directed by Adam McKay, ‘Don’t Look Up’ is a satirical representation of ignorance toward scientists and how science is largely disregarded in the legal field. This film captures the alarming tendencies of people to turn a deaf ear to the truth even though with the direct unveiling of facts.

The movie dawns when Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) unearths a discovery of a comet that Randall Mindy (Leonardo Di Caprio) calculates to dismantle the planet and blot out humanity in six months and 14 days. This event proceeds to the protest of the two scientists to the public and the government to take legal actions in order to prevent the supposed extinction to happen. These attempts eventually lead to hilariously annoying responses or lack thereof, as people, most particularly the President of the United States (Meryl Streep), succumbs to ignorance about the situation.

Setting aside the gist of the plot, definitely, viewers were drawn because of the cast with names that are undeniably on the pedestal of Hollywood. However, moving on to the rest of the film, it is brilliantly noticeable that this casting is not only for marketing but it serves as the backbone of the main message that celebrities compel us more than serious circumstances.

Oscar-winning A-list actors Jennifer Lawrence and Leonardo Di Caprio delivered remarkable performances in the film, most notably in the scene where they were presenting the concern and they both lose it live on television because of the emphasized idiocy of the two hosts played by Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry. Meanwhile, Mark Rylance, playing the billionaire technology CEO Peter Isherwell, takes his character to an uncomfortable and incomprehensible level which makes the movie more intriguing. Additionally, Timothee Chalamet, Jonah Hill, and Meryl Streep expectedly performed well, at times annoyingly well in regards to the characters they portray. Summing up the beauty of the frames is Ariana Grande exceptionally executing her ironic role and also singing the main soundtrack of the film.

This movie is comparable to the ‘Parasite’ in line with its dark humor on global contemporary issues. However, ‘Don’t Look Up’ contains comedy that makes you visibly laugh because of its trendy take though the former has the humor that allows you to contemplate deeply due to its profound symbolism. With that thought laid out, this movie, when approached from a shallow angle, may just be another comedic film and nothing more – essentially and ironically serving its purpose. On the flip side, unquestionably, the message is deep, clear, and relevant, considering the onset of the pandemic and climate change. Therefore, the rest of its goal depends on the evaluation of the audience from the film to real-world events.

The twilight of the film is predictable yet stunningly dark and emotional with most of the main characters together in the dining room muttering a prayer while the world collapses. Overall, though containing certain flaws, everyone must look up to this movie, especially when one wants to indulge themselves with dark laughter, awareness, and an unclear spectrum between chill and head-banging irritation.