Netflix's Don't Look Up Cleverly Blends Satire And Heart To Deliver An Important Message To Audiences

        

       The objective of any film is to entertain its audience. Whereas they're made for that sole purpose, there are some whose goals extend further with them serving as a reflection of the world itself. With Netflix's Don't Look Up boasting Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep as the main leads, the film not only delivers a vital message but does so in a style that's fun, satirical, and thought-provoking.

      Don't Look Up's plot has two astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jannifer Lawrence) discovering a comet heading towards Earth that will cause an extinction level event. Both go to extreme pains to convince  the government and media that it's real, only to have their efforts met with indifference and political backlash. Don't Look Up provides laughs while delivering scrutiny towards certain sectors of the American population, the media, and right-wing authoritarian style leadership for its disregarding of science and caring more about image. Although its messaging can be seen as appearing heavy-handed at times, Don't Look Up tackles it's important subject matter with humor and heart.

            When it comes to performances, Don't Look Up's star-studded cast deliver fantastic performances that help make the films plot feel more engaging to audiences. Both DiCaprio and Lawrence are on top form here as astronomers Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky. They show their characters shock and frustration towards the lack of seriousness being directed towards their discovery by authorities. Both performances go hand-in-hand and work exceptionally well together on screen. Meryl Streep is brilliant as neglectful President Of The United States, Janie Orleans, who shows herself to be less concerned about the dangers of the comet and more about her public image regarding the upcoming midterms. Jonah Hill does terrific as Janine's son and White House Chief Of Staff Jason Orlean with his character appearing to be as equally tone deaf as his mother upon learning of the comet. Other noteworthy performances from the cast include Rob Morgan as Dr. Teddy Oglethorpe, head of the Planetary Defense Coordination Office, Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry as co-hosts of The Daily Rip, Brie Evantee and Jack Bremmer, Mary Rylance as tech billionaire CEO of Bash Peter Isherell with his character feeling like a combination of Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, with Timothee Chalamet as young shoplifter Yule who supports Kate's claim. Overall, Don't Look Up's cast is stellar and add to the stories realism with everyone effectively slipping into character and delivering strong work.

      Directed by Adam McKay who helmed 2018's Vice. He applies the same satirical style of that film here while uniquely blending comedy and realism together. He gives Don't Look Up cinematography that's clean and bright with the films colors really hitting the screen, along with different camera tricks to capture the actors facial expressions. He does a fantastic job of blending the two together when disaster strikes, increasing the audiences anxiety regarding wanting to know what happens next in the story. The film contains a few visual moments which showcases the comet barreling towards Earth along with other shots including outer space, explosions, and the revealing of an alien creature. The film is exceedingly fast-paced with the audience growing more anxious of what happens next as the story progresses. The soundtrack consists of a wide-variety of songs, including a low-key score that hits home during the films emotional moments. Whereas McKay's films generally boast a documentary style look to them, he opts to deliver a different approach here that presents a rapid feel that mirrors audiences everyday life. 

      Don't Look Up's script contains fun twists along with numerous themes regarding the destruction of mankind, political power, science, freedoms, and exploitation that not only feel alarmingly relevant but reflective on today's society, even going as far as showing the politicizing of the comet with the country becoming intentionally divided by President Janine's administration. The latter is shown as being a cap-wearing GOP president, who showed herself as being apathetic towards the comets threat and only addressing it when becoming politically convenient to do so. The resistance that both astronomers receive in alerting the public about the discovery, along with the medias focus on Ariana Grande's characters on and off relationship with fiance DJ Chello being hilariously believable. What's most impressive about the script is not just that all the key characters are well fleshed out, but how it reflects on the horrors of real-world idiocracy in American culture such as the neglecting of facts, the denial of science, and the embracing of a fascist type of governing. In terms of exposing a collective denial that many practice, Don't Look Up does a fine job of doing so without its plot never feeling too silly or being overly dramatic. It also manages to be depressing when observing how close of a resemblance its world behaves in comparison to reality. 

      As well-intentioned as the plot is in wanting its audience to save the world before its too late, those who actually require hearing the films message will be the quickest to dismiss it. The filmmakers make no apologies with the shots they fire and make a strong plea for audiences to trust science. Though its plot is climate change driven, there are many striking similarities between the reaction people have towards the comet and Covid-19. There's even a bit in the film where the comet becomes visible in the sky which vindicates the astronomers, yet Janine's administration encourages its voter base to not look up despite Ariana Grande's plea to do so with the films key song. Netflix's Don't Look Up does well in striking a unique balance between drama and comedy with the film always carrying a dark edge when exploring modern worlds collective behavior, that heavily consists of those choosing blatant ignorance and greed over reason while those in power gain from inaction. For a film that's bound to be polarizing in getting its point across, it does its job very well and will provoke necessary discussion after watching it.

Final Verdict: Don't Look Up is a must see not just for its stellar cast, but for the boldness of the message it aspires to convey.

Images Courtesy Of Netflix