Déni cosmique

I always like the prospect of a nice disaster film, but I was also intrigued by the fact that this film was labelled as a comedy. Thankfully, this worked rather well, and this film was anything but a disaster (in the metaphorical sense of whatever, you know what I mean!!!)

The cast shone beautifully. Leonardo Dicaprio played the role of a socially out of comfort zone scientist perfectly, Jennifer Lawrence and Meryl Streep were equally as amazing, and I loved the fact that they sneaked Timothee Chalamet in there! But really, I think that Cate Blanchett's performance was the best, and she encapsulated that talk show host in a comedic way that really complimented the film.

Cinematography showed nothing remarkable, but I thought that editing was done rather amusingly, as just cutting to random scenes of random things showed the film's comedic nature.

The soundtrack was surprisingly complimentary: the upbeat jazz score reflected the frenetic, relentless storyline, and the comedic storyline. Writing was brilliant, and there were many jokes which made me laugh out loud, something that I don't often do with films!

Lighting: nothing worthy of comment.

Overall, a good mainstream audience comedy, but not really a filmsy film*. On the whole though, it was a good laugh!

*A film worthy of analysis. Technical term.

I am pretty sure once we go down we are going to go down like this. The way nowadays social media Earth is going on now and the way we handle Covid this is exactly how we are going to finish our lives on this planet. This is not a fiction, this is a documentary.

I understand why some people hate this film. It feels real in its entirety, it shows you how stupid and insignificant we are and it is extremely apropos today. Also, it was marketed as a comedy, when in fact is a dramatic film that is humorous only in its accurate portrayal of humanity. Then again some people try to "tell you" what it is about and, while it is certainly metaphoric, it isn't about anything more specific than ourselves. It is a mirror. Some people don't like what they see in it.

I found it an almost perfect film, with some deliciously carefully crafted moments and great acting. At first I thought the comedic side was actually too much and wished that someone like Steven Soderbergh made the movie instead, but as I was watching it I started to appreciate how methodical the approach was and now I believe Adam McKay was the right man for the job. I enjoyed the overall plot, I liked the characters and how things were presented, but I loved the little things like, for example, the only scene where Europe is mentioned, as a short scene of a news item when they say they are going to convene and find their own solution, resulting in absolutely nothing. I am European and sad to say it struck home. Or the meal scene at the end, which is both emotional, focusing and reminding us how even that option can be taken away by something as small as a virus.

Annoyingly, in these days movies from the U. S. are becoming more and more of "a color". They are not telling a story, but are taking a side. They are either democrat or republican, conservative or liberal, blue or red, flyover or coast. Don't Look Up is not a big offender, but the language and presentation was clearly on the "coast" side. Thus, it will be probably appreciated by people who already saw the world this way and ignored or at best maligned by the people on the other side. And it's a pity, because this film is meant to bring us together as a civilization and not keep us divided. I feel like it could have done a better job in that direction.

There was one detail that I think McKay got completely wrong. There is no chance in hell the president of the United States would make a public speech and use metric units like kilometers in it. If it weren't for that, I would have rated this 10 stars. Jokes aside, this is a movie you have to watch.

"Don't Look Up" will divide audiences for a myriad of reasons, but personally, I found this to be a brilliant satire about the state of growing misinformation and the dangerous hypocrisies of this digital age.

It's chock full of unpleasant characters and unpleasant situations, and viewers need to go-into all of it with a coarse grain of salt. I suspect many detractors of the film might be those easily persuaded by misinformation, and those, who themselves, like to ignore science and tend-to grasp onto these social life-jackets - instead of heeding the poignant and important meaning of the film - they will focus on all the negatives.

The film is completely absurd, and it's supposed to be. The style, cast and absurdity just work together harmoniously. Everything about this ridiculous movie is probably not as far removed from reality as one might think. It is over-stylized, no doubt, but it's Running Man, Hunger Games, Total Recall disinformation-vibe rings true in today's world, and far sooner than many suspected. It's like Miracle Mile, Back to the Future 2, Deep Impact and This is the End, had a coma baby birthed-in the somber realities and fact-checks of Bright Lights Big City.

It's not perfect. The film would have benefitted from more family development, and a better soundtrack, but any low scores can be dismissed as those who took political offense and missed the point. Cast attacks can be dismissed as well - it's comedy not a drama. Don't expect The Color Purple or Bridges of Madison County here.

Good movie. Will surely find a top 25 spot for 2021. Love the extended credits. The film is clever and, imo, an important film.

Spoiler free review.

I wasn't exactly gripped by the plot, but the cast, yes please, this film boasts one impressive line up.

I thoroughly enjoyed it, it managed to mix up subtlety with brashness incredibly well, it pokes fun at modern cultures, celebrity and the absurdities of social media.

I spoke to a few people that found it rather funny, I can't say I was amused, but I certainly was entertained. The absurdity amused me, I pondered if some events would happen if the world did actually face disaster. The rich getting richer in the face of disaster.....

Merryl Street as always was first class, but for me the standout had to be Di Caprio, he was terrific throughout, that scene where he blows his top, incredible.

Thoroughly enjoyable, 8/10.