Don't Look Up

— I generally like black humor and satire, and I'm usually up for an apocalypse film, but I tend to appreciate subtlety too. No one would call this film subtle or, for that matter, more than occasionally humorous. During the first part of the film, I thought it was just “too soon” for this kind of treatment, then I moved to thinking it was just going on too long for this particular topic. Throughout most of it, I felt sorry for the cast who tried but just couldn’t elevate the film from its lumbering pace. DiCaprio and Lawrence’s characters at least have some human emotions, but poor Streep and Blanchett’s characters are little more than flat stereotypes. What a waste of talent. Toward the end I was feeling a little better about it, maybe because it was almost over, but I’m glad I stayed through the credits, interrupted midway by a final scene that I honestly did enjoy. I imagine some people will love the film for its subject matter, but I’m not one of them. It’s a shame, too, since I’m interested in how we move forward now that truth and lies have become contranyms. In fact, the immediacy of the content may make it worth watching. [Netflix streaming.]

---

[2021. 138 minutes. Directed by Adam McKay. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep.]
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dont-look-up-movie-review-2021