Don’t Look Up is a Netflix original movie that debuted on the streaming service in 2021. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, and even more a-list celebrity actors.
The film tells the story of two scientists who discover that a large comet is hurtling towards Earth at a frightening pace. They take this discovery to NASA and the White House, urging world leaders to act on the worrying scenario. They are met, however, with disdain and mockery, being publicly lauded on TV and social media. Their discovery isn’t taken seriously in the slightest and the White House are only interested in potential profit from the comet’s resources. It is frustrating and maddening for the scientists.
This movie is known to be a direct metaphor for the way the world is currently handling our global climate crisis.
We have scientists and experts who are able to tell and show us the world is deteriorating at a worrisome pace and yet, it feels that hardly any world leaders are doing enough to tackle this imminent problem.
Don’t Look Up shines a light on the problem in both a comedic and very raw way. It balances the light and dark together, depicting a very real picture of our world and how it operates.
So, is the movie any good?
Let’s discuss.
Don’t Look Up – An Accurate and Revealing Exposé of Human Behaviour
So, on the one hand, yes, Don’t Look Up, in our opinion, is, a great film.
The film does a great job at accurately depicting the willful ignorance of world leaders and the genuine frustration of those who can see the destruction of the world happening in front of our very eyes.
The film is an excellent example of providing humour in dark moments but allowing the dark moments to be the overall reality of the work. There is no happy ending with this film, it ends on a powerful note that hammers the message home to its audience without needing to hide behind humour and pacify the viewer. While the characters and dialogue can be funny throughout the film, viewers are left knowing that this was not a funny film overall.
There are so many moments within the film that seem to have been directly lifted out of real life. Its depiction of American News Anchors, social media trends, the inner workings of political parties and the U.S. government is deeply rooted in our everyday reality and it does not take a lot for us to imagine these scenes taking place in real life.
The characters, too, are fully fleshed-out and nuanced characters who we can imagine meeting in real life. The rise and demise of the scientists struggling to survive in a cruel world is probably the most authentic story arc for all of us.
Watching these characters come to such a bitter and unfortunate end is heartbreaking and it brings us face to face with our uncomfortable reality. Watching the superrich characters escape to another world is sickening, yet easy to imagine.
The film is real, it’s raw, and it tells the story of our own world. That is its great strength.
Don’t Look Up – Hard to Swallow From A-List Celebrities?
However, on the flip side, the message behind Don’t Look Up is slightly hard to swallow considering who is sending us the message.
Outcry came when Leonardi Di Caprio, the lead mind behind the film and lead actor, was spotted on Amazon tycoon Jeff Bezo’s superyacht in St Bart’s on New Year’s Eve 2021, shortly after the eco film’s debut. For a lot of people, this didn’t sit well. For someone to take part in and promote a film that so strongly aims to show the world the crisis we are in and how little is being done about it, and then to immediately party with someone who owns a huge, globally-damaging corporation, while on a yacht that contributes greatly to carbon emissions… It’s pretty hypocritical.
The fact that this film is brought to us by a global corporation, a $75 million budget, and a star-studded cast of millionaires, makes things a little muddy.
$75 million would do an awful lot of good if channelled into conversation projects and environmental charities.
Of course, bringing awareness to things is always important and it does do good. But it would be much more impactful if those bringing awareness to issues didn’t also directly contribute to the issues themselves.
Do we separate work from actor? Or do we hold them accountable?
That is the question, really.
Overall – A Film Worth Seeing, A Cause More Worthy of Support
Overall, Don’t Look Up is a great film to watch, I would recommend it to anyone looking for a film recommendation. It is an enjoyable watch with some great storytelling, and it shines a light on very important, pressing issues.
The actors give stellar performances and you will be hooked for the over 2-hour duration of the film, right until the bitter end.
However, I would be conscious of everything we have talked about in this blog. I would recommend supporting the world in other ways than simply supporting actors and celebrities getting richer.
A dilemma we have is in the issue of separating an actor’s actions from their work, but in this case of Don’t Look Up, it is harder to separate the two when the message behind the film is so strong. To stand so firmly behind something and then take actions that imply you don’t have such a position, is confusing.
The message of the film is correct but it would help if those involved took more steps to emulate that message.
So, a great film, but food for thought for us (and others) in many ways too.
What do you think?
Let us know in the comments below and let us know what other reviews you would like to see on our blog! We’d love for you to get involved and we’d love to hear your feedback.