Don't Look Up

This is a version of a review heard on ABC Radio Victoria on January 7, 2021.

(M) ★★★½

Director: Adam McKay.

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Rob Morgan, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Melanie Lynskey, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel. 

So many specials.

Dear Adam McKay,

If someone doesn't like your movie, it doesn't necessarily mean they didn't get it. They might just think it's a bad movie. This doesn't mean the message is bad, or that they disagree with that message - it probably means they think the film-making techniques employed in communicating that message didn't work for them.

Personally, I liked Don't Look Up, though it's not without its flaws. The fact that I think it's flawed doesn't mean I didn't get it. I understand what the film is about - it's an allegory for climate change, while simultaneously demonstrating the facile nature of the news cycle, the rampant stupidity and inherent danger of social media, the devious economic forces at play within our various world governments, the casual misogyny within our society, and how we're spiralling into an apocalyptic situation of our own making that, ironically, we have the capacity to avert.

I get that. I also laud you for making a film that points out all those things, especially one with such a fine and attention-grabbing cast. Your film, this cast, and the debate generated by Don't Look Up all help draw attention to our plight. Obviously, we are way beyond talking, and the real-life scientists mirrored by the fictional Dr Randall Mindy (DiCaprio) are understandably irate that so little is happening to avoid this climatic disaster. But every little bit helps, and that is what your film is about. And I get that.

But just because you make an important film about an important subject doesn't mean you escape criticism. For example: it's possible to make a shit film about the Holocaust. Just as it's possible to make an imperfect film about climate change.

Mr McKay, usually I don't read other reviews before writing my own, but because you jumped on Twitter to say that people who didn't like the film didn't get it, I did a little bit of pre-reading. I don't agree with some of the overly critical assessments. I fail to see how the film "trivialises" its subject matter, or how it comes off as "cynical" or "insufferably smug" or tackles an "easy target". These reviews miss the point in my view, though that doesn't mean they didn't get the film. While I disagree with their sentiments, it doesn't mean they didn't understand Don't Look Up. And if those reviewers can ably demonstrate how they film demonstrates their failings, then that's fine too.

My own criticisms mirror some of the other criticisms I've seen. The film is longer than it should be (one example: the live-in-concert song that appears with half-an-hour to go wears out its welcome quickly). The tone, which was always going to be difficult to nail due to the subject matter, wanders all over the shop, making the humour fail almost as often as it lands. Your predilection for editing in stock footage works in places, mostly later in the film, and not in others. 

But, Mr McKay, I enjoyed the film. Its satire is so close to the mark that it hurts - the reality is as absurd as the send-up, which makes the film's message all the more pointed. The performances are outstanding. DiCaprio and Lawrence are brilliant, with the latters head-to-heads with Jonah Hill's dim-witted son-of-a-president a particular highlight. Morgan is great, Streep's president is wonderfully diabolical, and Rylance and Blanchett employ their incredible skills to ensure their characters aren't caricatures. And when the laughs land, they're great.

There are some powerful moments too. The ending is gut-wrenching. Seeing DiCaprio and Lawrence's star-gazers screaming their existential dread to an unhearing audience is a big statement. Oh, and the weird sub-plot about a money-grubbing general is hilarious. 

Mr McKay, your film is worthy of a double bill with Idiocracy, and while it falls short of your best film The Big Short, it's an admirable-if-flawed satire that I will heartily recommend despite its flaws. But please remember - someone not liking your film doesn't mean they didn't get it.