Movie Monday Jan. 17: Don’t Look Up

My pick for this week is a bit polarizing. Don’t Look Up has gotten just as much praise as pushback since its release last month. From how governments and the media are portrayed to how a large portion of the population is apathetic towards an imminent disaster, people either seem to love it or hate it.

**Warning, mild spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t watched the movie yet, what are you doing?**

Don’t Look Up tells the story of how the world could respond to an incoming comet that has the power to destroy life on Earth. When Ph.D. candidate Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers the comet, she and her professor Dr. Randal Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) take the information to the US government, thinking that they will have the resources to do something. Instead, President Orlean (Meryl Streep) decides to do nothing. Kate and Dr. Mindy try to warn the public through TV and social media, but are instead met with mockery and skepticism. Eventually the government makes a plan to stop the comet, but only after the president’s sex scandal is leaked. Once they find out there’s valuable rare-earth elements in the comet, the mission to destroy it is scrapped in favor of one that can exploit said elements. Dr. Mindy tries to help the government, but is instead sucked into the corruption. The public is so misinformed that many believe that the comet doesn’t even exist. Kate, Dr. Mindy, and NASA scientist Dr. Oglethorpe (Rob Morgan) eventually come together to try and rally the world to stop the disaster, but ultimately it’s too late.

I love satire and I really enjoyed Don’t Look Up. The ensemble cast was amazing, from the queen Meryl Streep to cameos by Ariana Grande and Chris Evans. I especially love Jonah Hill’s Jason Orleans, the president’s son and chief of staff. I hated to love him and I loved to hate him.

Sometimes political satire tries too hard to get the point across, but Don’t Look Up’s lack of subtlety is what makes it work. It doesn’t pull any punches, from the government to the media to the average person. We would hope that in times of great crisis, we could come together. The past two years have proved that in a lot of cases that sentiment is wrong. This movie shows that small acts can get traction eventually, but without big effective changes, sadly not much can get done.

While this all sounds fairly pessimistic, the message that I got from the movie isn’t that the world is doomed. I walked away thinking that facts, especially scientific ones, coming from experts should be trusted if there’s work to back it up. And most of the time, doing nothing is a lot worse than doing something. Don’t Look Up doesn’t end on a hopeful note plot wise, but it does serve as a warning for our future, climate change, etc.: do something before it’s too late.

Don’t Look Up is funny, politically and socially relevant, and at least a little fatalistic. If you’re someone who is easily offended, I skip this one.

One moment that I loved: The first meeting with President Orleas about the comet. It’s a great example of how science and politics don’t really mix. I also love Jonah Hill and Jennifer Lawrence’s banter, they are hilarious.

One moment that made me laugh: When the FBI arrests Dr. Mindy, Kate, and Dr. Oglethorpe. The three very different responses are more ironic than haha funny. The satire in Dr. Oglethorpe’s (a black man) arrest is especially poignant. More of a gasp than a true laugh. 

I’d give Don’t Look Up seven Birkin bags out of ten.