You think it is easy to warn the world that it is about to crash on Earth a meteorite and the near apocalypse? Ask astronomy graduate student Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) and Professor Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose alarm clashes with myopia, cultural inconsistency, mistrust of science and serious things, and even more with the difficulty of analyzing media, social networks in the first place, distracted by fake news. The discovery of the two scholars could trigger a first-tier catastrophic film. Instead, director Adam McKay (The big bet, Vice – The man in the shadows) chooses the most congenial funny – allegorical side.
A comet the size of Mount Everest is about to enter a collision course with the planet. a consequence of the climate disaster, and we need to act quickly. The impact, within 6 months, will trigger the end of the world. Yet the news does not seem to interest. It is downplayed, undervalued, spurned. At best, this is considered information to be verified. The whole headline says: Don’t Look Up it literally means not looking upwards. Metaphorically, it is a sarcastic reminder of both the danger that comes unexpectedly and the guilty inclination of not being able to look beyond your nose, even if you should, even if it hurts, even if the future is black.
So, joking and satirizing, McKay invites us to a sense of responsibility, to know how to recognize skills and to have respect for them, not to put our heads in the sand and not to transform the themes of science into a ring without rules. The goal is Donald Trump’s denial America, which marries that of the IT-financial gurus. Kate and Randall are two innocents, hitherto protected by the walls of a laboratory. The emergency forces them to come out, to come into contact with a ramshackle and unprincipled universe.
The two scientists go on a kind of tour between the authorities and the press. They end up in the presence of President Jamie Orlean (Meryl Streep) and Cabinet Chief Jason (Jonah Hill), but those would have other things to think about: sex scandals and mid-term elections. They reach The Daily Rip, a lively morning show hosted by Brie (Cate Blanchett) and Jack (Tyler Perry) and they make a fool of themselves. The intent of the film is to scratch, to smile. Reasoning on the superficiality of quarrels, the mystifications and contradictions of the System and the prevalence of the idiot even in the face of epochal threats such as pandemics and environmental (and political) disaster. McKay confesses that he was inspired by, among others, a Doctor Strangelove e Fifth Estate, of which Don’t Look Up is actually a surreal meeting point.
An Armageddon in a comedy key which focuses on improvisation, as is also clear from the statements that accompanied the shooting. McKay dusts the film with irony, alludes, filters the story with a science fiction hypothesis but seeks harmony with the viewer by dealing with strictly topical issues. An opportunity to have a laugh after two crazy years. The cast so rich it dazzles. The helm in the hands of DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who gives up blonde hair for a red fringe destined to cause discussion. But next to them there is a memorable team of stars: Meryl Streep makes a Hillary Clinton who made it, then there is the parsley Timothe Chalamet, Cate Blanchett, Ariana Grande, Gina Gershon, Ron Perlman, Mark Rylance and many others. The acting styles overlap. There are actors tuned to the dramatic who are close to out of tune. Others, closer to comedy, make a great impression. Environmentalist DiCaprio, who also participated in the script, the best: a troubled, trampled, misunderstood brain. The funniest scene? The emotional breakdown on live TV.
DON’T LOOK UP di Adam McKay
(Usa, 2021, duration 145 ‘)
con Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothe Chalamet, Jennifer Lawrence, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep, Mark Rylance
Rating: *** 1/2 out of 5
In theaters and from December 24th on Netflix
11 December 2021 | 07:23
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