As an avid fan of both dark comedy and Leonardo DiCaprio, I was excited to finally have the time to watch Don’t Look Up, an allegorical, satirical film written and directed by Adam McKay. The film did not release the same amount of dopamine in my brain that some of McKay’s other comedies like Anchorman did; on the contrary, I was left with a feeling of deep, anxiety-inducing doom, as the film mimicked real life events in such a believable way that left me feeling as if there is no hope for us left in this world.
Don’t Look Up speaks to the absolute certainty that global warming is happening and there is only a finite amount of time we can spend trying to reverse the damage we have done and not destroy the earth entirely. The film follows some very passionate astronomers who discover a massive comet that will hit the earth in a matter of months, only to be met with resistance and disbelief when bringing that news to the public.
The terror-inducing aspect of this movie is how much it parellels what is actually happening in our world today. Governments and political leaders know that the earth cannot keep pace with the relentless grind of capitalism, pollution, and natural-resource extraction, they know that we are at the precipice of no return when it comes to the absolute destruction of the planet, yet there is nothing being done to stop this other than empty promises made at pompous climate summits. At the Glasgow Summit, held near the end of 2021, countries made self-governed commitments to cut their emissions slightly by 2030. If politicians are going to lie to us about how they’re going to protect the planet, they should at least make false promises that will actually make a difference and inspire a glimmer of hope. The movie speaks to how well our governments and the media can gaslight the public and twist a story in a way that creates a toxic, negative divide that only further threatens our chances of survival as a species.
The astronomers, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, attempted to explain the seriousness of this comet’s impact on the planet to Meryl Streep’s character, a caricature of former president Donald Trump. When asked how certain they are that this “planet-destroyer” will hit the earth, the astronomers insisted there was a 100 per cent certainty of impact. The president and her advisors refused to acknowledge this and downplayed the looming disaster, saying that they would “sit tight and assess” the situation.
While the plot of the movie was dark and sobering, the star-studded cast keeps you watching until the flaming end. Lawrence, playing a grad student who first discovered the comet, is known for playing “crazy” exceptionally well on screen. Her character melts into believable, anxiety-inducing hysteria that almost makes me forget about her firetruck red undercut complete with microbangs. DiCaprio, playing Lawrence’s professor, is appropriately labelled as the “sexy scientist” by the media, as he manages to still be jaw-droppingly hot playing a nerdy, middle-aged dad. The most unbelievable part of the film was seeing DiCaprio go home to his age-appropriate wife in the suburbs. Timothée Chalamet really was the delicious icing on top of this bitter-sweet cake of a movie, and I completely melted when his skater-boy character with a mullet started professing his love for Jesus. The extensive list of A-list stars featured in this film include: Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Tyler Perry, and Ariana Grande.
I have a strong prediction for how the end of humanity will play out, and this movie came scarily close to my forecast. If you’re rich and powerful, you will find a way to escape the planet you played such a great part in destroying. Don’t you think it’s awfully suspicious how fascinated billionaires are becoming with space travel?
As much as this movie activated a visceral climate-rage deep inside my bones, it also made me want to fight for the sake of my children and grandchildren. Near the end of the film, as the characters reminisced on how crazy their lives had been since first discovering the comet, Lawrence said, teary-eyed, “I’m grateful we tried.”
The film states in no uncertain terms that global warming is a very real and very dangerous reality that we must address now, as the downfall of this planet and every species on it is not far away. It asks the question: What are you doing with the time you have left? Are you pretending everything is okay and the powerful people in charge have it all figured out, or are you fighting tooth-and-nail to make changes that matter?
Andrea Sadowski is working towards her BA in Global Development Studies, with a minor in anthropology and Mennonite studies. When she's not sitting in front of her computer, Andrea enjoys climbing mountains, sleeping outside, cooking delicious plant-based food, talking to animals, and dismantling the patriarchy.
