“ is a Clark Kent-level disguise of the climate crisis,” McKay said, making it clear that he did not aim for subtlety whatsoever in this project. Amy Mainzer, McKay happily acknowledged that the message of the movie is much more spoon-fed than previous satirical efforts. In a recent roundtable that I attended with McKay and scientific advisor to the film Dr. What perhaps justifies the movie being straightforward instead of a more layered piece of satire is the self-awareness behind it. They fight to make their case as time slowly runs out, but no one seems to care. We watch as they face many roadblocks such as corrupt government officials, uninterested talk show hosts, conspiracy theorists and greedy billionaires. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) have to convince the world that the threat is serious. student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) discovers a comet headed toward Earth, she and her Ph.D. McKay, who previously directed movies such as the ever-so-clever “The Big Short” and the incredibly dumb “Step Brothers,” draws more from the former than the latter in this star-studded political satire. If the jokes land and the criticism is valid and deserved, I will gobble that up with pleasure, which is exactly what I did. Critics (and by critics I mean two reviews I read from normal people) say it’s too blunt and not nuanced enough to be satire, but you know what? I’m not complaining. Or rather, don’t look up!Īdam McKay pulls no punches in his latest satire, seamlessly fusing hard-hitting criticism of modern American society and politics with dabs of dark, dry humor. Like the rest of the film, this satirical gag is well-thought-out and well-executed - albeit an unnerving look into the mirror for modern society.Do you ever want a movie that blends comedy, apocalyptic dread, capitalist corruption and Leo DiCaprio? Don’t look further. As farcical and goofy as Isherwell's character is within the context of Don't Look Up, which is more a caricature of influential billionaires than anything, some facets of him hit too close to home - as was clearly the intention. His sizeable net worth comes with disturbing amounts of power. To an extent, the president - who is supposed to work for her constituents - literally answers to this tech mogul. In one Don't Look Up scene, he even barks at Orlean (for whom he's a major donor) to speak with him in a hallway on his personal timeframe. Peter Isherwell has too much sway in politics and society overall. As many viewers have already noted, Isherwell seems to be a hybrid of prominent tech and tech-adjacent figures like Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. Adam McKay also cleverly added in his character's interest in sending himself to space - a clear parallel of mockery to the real-world's current billionaire space race. Instead, the tycoon is self-serving with his power and abilities. However, despite that, nothing is done to truly help people, prevent any of it, or even invent other technologies to improve societal issues in everyday life. Isherwell's Don't Look Up character is able to use technology and algorithms to even predict how people, like Orlean, will die. Within the incredibly allegorical project, Isherwell's character is clearly meant as an amalgamation of today's incomprehensibly wealthy CEOs and entrepreneurs that garner as much societal influence as they do cash - but without actually using their capital or power to change many of the world's problems for the better. But it also hits on an even bleaker, much more meaningful truth about modern society. The mini-scene pays off an earlier joke setup, showing Orlean's gruesome, previously predicted death by " bronteroc" consumption. The arguably best one shows astonishingly wealthy tech CEO Peter Isherwell (Mark Rylance) and President Orlean having survived Earth's comet-caused apocalypse. Related: Don't Look Up: Is The Planetary Defense Coordination Office Real?Īll the way to Don't Look Up's credits scenes, modern-day societal commentary seems to saturate every detail within the film. From a dismissive, vote-focused presidential administration to internet-roaming conspiracy theorists, it's much more difficult than it would've seemed to get the globe to take its forthcoming demise seriously. Teddy Oglethorpe, they're in a race against the clock (or, in this case, Kate's countdown-geared diet app) to convince the rest of the world about the imminent threat that Comet Dibiasky poses to life as everyone knows it. Of course, most of the world doesn't have the same debilitatingly anxious reaction to the grim news as scientists Dr. Don't Look Up's climate change plot is a meaningful, yet comical, story that kicks off with the bleak, seemingly panic-inducing discovery of a comet that's sure to destroy Earth.
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