I really took my time writing this because it took me a really long time to sit through this movie.
Well acted, well written, and strikingly timely, Don’t Look Up is the somewhat fictional story about two scientists discovering a comet headed right to Earth. Once they share the discovery, the rest of the film focuses on the various media and political handlings of the news and the two people who discovered it. Jennifer Lawrence is incredible in this, giving a performance very reminiscent of her Oscar winning Silver Linings Playbook days. Leonardo DiCaprio is also fantastic; as an actor whose style is very reliant on showing how much he is trying, the awkward but optimistic scientist is perfect for him as the strain and desperation plays very well. Timothee Chalamet is a treat in this as well as an anarchist skateboarder, and Ariana Grande is a highlight every time she is on screen as a very exaggerated version of herself. The rest of the performances are fine but forgettable, including Meryl Streep as the President of the United States, who barely feels like she has any presence in this film — which is nuts. Jonah Hill plays her son and Chief of Staff, but if you’ve seen Jonah Hill play a smarmy creep once you’ve seen it eight thousand times. I’m also a huge fan of Veep, so this is really a downplayed version of that which makes it, for me, really not all that compelling.
All of these things could be forgiven though as the script is very well written. It’s timely and sharp — but that also is its downfall. It’s a little too timely and topical, especially in the era where science matters less than social media presence. It took me out of any sense of joy I could get out of the movie because it was too relatable, especially with the online hate campaign against Jennifer Lawrence’s character when all she did was care. This movie exhausted me, it was like sitting through two hours of doom scrolling with no relief or break. I feel like the human brain isn’t meant to be through this constant level of stress, so having a movie just perpetuate that is nuts. And this is coming from someone who loves horror movies.
I really don’t know what to say about this movie except that it is very good. The problem is it’s too real, which really robs it of any joy. There is nothing comforting about watching the worst people you know on the big screen continue to make terrible choices. Don’t Look Up is too effective at satirizing, and I think it might be up there as a one time watch that I never touch again. The real highlight for me was seeing the crazy neighbor from Two and a Half Men be Leo’s wife in it, because I always thought she deserved better than being in that shitty show. And being in a movie with two Oscar winners? Pretty cool and I’m happy for her. But other than that? No joy.
I’ll stick to my movies about ghosts and demons as my forms of escapism, thank you very much.