The Art of Deception: A Dive into Gone Girl

 DON'T LOOK UP (2021)

It is not a simple moment for satire. Throughout Trump's presidency, politics in real life got so crazy that to mock them just seemed unnecessary. And yet, some clever creatives started thinking that satire had to educate folks on morals. But that isn't what satire is actually all about. Fine satire is that which amplifies and mocks stupidity—it doesn't attempt to fix or provide answers. Strictly speaking, that makes Adam McKay's Netflix movie Don't Look Up an instance of satire, but in many ways, unfortunately, not very effective at all. It resembles a social media meme rather than cutting wit. 

The movie itself is quite milky and even somewhat arrogant. Not because it doesn't take a clear political stance—satire doesn't need to—but because it's too long, too heavy-handed, and too confident that some "good people" might save the world if only we would listen to them. It invents a absurd world populated by silly characters, but then inserts two "sensible" heroes into the middle of it. That's a problem, since satire is most effective when it demonstrates that everyone is imperfect—except for the bad guys.

Don't Look Up stars a marquee cast in a tale of world's end. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are scientists who identify a comet on course to crash into Earth. When they attempt to alert influential figures—the President (Meryl Streep) and a ratings-generating talk show crew (Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry)—nobody believes them. The comet is obviously symbolic for climate change: scientists notice the threat, and leaders ignore it.

The movie starts off strong. Early on, after confirming the comet is 99% likely to hit Earth, DiCaprio’s character Dr. Randall Mindy and Lawrence’s Kate Dibiasky meet with the President and her annoying chief of staff (Jonah Hill). The President acts concerned but doesn’t take real action. She says, “Let’s sit tight and assess,” which basically means, “We’ll do nothing for now.”

That moment captures what Don't Look Up is trying to achieve—it's how infuriating it is when actual leaders pretend not to notice the real issues. The President appears oblivious, the staff cares more about casual conversation than staying alive, and the elites just keep parroting hollow promises. It's both hilarious and excruciatingly familiar.

The problem is, the movie keeps repeating that same message for the entire 2 hours and 18 minutes. While editor Hank Corwin deserves credit for keeping the many storylines somewhat clear, the film doesn’t build the tension you’d expect from a story where time is running out.

The movie introduces even more over-the-top elements, such as Mark Rylance's tech whiz character who looks like a combination of Elon Musk and Steve Jobs. He insists his technology can repair everything and make life ideal. Then, the mission to destroy the comet is aborted so they can mine it for valuable minerals instead. We also encounter more outlandish characters, such as Ron Perlman's vintage colonel dispatched to destroy the comet, uttering all manner of absurd lines. But the narrative continues to repeat itself with the same formula: intelligent scientists attempt to alert everyone, nobody pays attention, and the scientists become angry. The film switches whom it is spoofing—sometimes it's the government, sometimes the media or social media—but continues to employ the same modus operandi. Worst of all, it's not very funny. It's sort of amusing, but lacks the belly laughs of Adam McKay's previous films such as Anchorman, or the clever editing gimmicks of The Big Short.

Now, to be specific, Don't Look Up is satire—it contains all the traditional hallmarks: exaggeration, goofy versions of actual people, and a outlandish, implausible plot. It takes the concept of an asteroid colliding with Earth from films such as Armageddon. The majority of the characters in the movie are cartoon-like—phony smiles, clueless comments, and far too much confidence in themselves. However, the two lead characters, Dr. Mindy and Kate, and Dr. Oglethorpe, are treated as the only sane people. They're portrayed as the "good guys" and not frequently ridiculed like the rest. For instance, there's a humorous scene in which Dr. Mindy becomes a celebrity as the "sexy astronomer," but even then the film keeps him largely serious. 

This presents a difficulty. Because the film wishes for us to accept the movie as a message regarding today's actual world—particularly regarding climate change—it makes Dr. Mindy and Kate stand-ins for actual scientists. What that does is place them beyond criticism. The film ends up being like those "trust the science" tweets you see everywhere online. It reduces the entire situation to "scientists = good, everyone else = bad," without acknowledging that real life is more complicated—including the issues within science and politics.

The ending is the weakest. When the characters are faced with the realization that they can't halt the comet, the movie changes from indignant satire to a gentle, sentimental message: "Let's just be kind and spend time with loved ones." It becomes no longer critical and more of a hearts-and-emotions affair rather than ideas. A good satire must push the absurdity to the extreme and continue to do so. Don't Look Up simply goes round in circles about the same things, then stops with a mushy sigh. It aspires to be radical, but ultimately, it's simply a reassuring message for those who already share its views.

Ultimately, Don't Look Up attempts to satirize politics and the media, yet it comes across as equally self-righteous and constrictive as the world it is lampooning. 

Rating: 6 out of 10

Don't Look Up (2021, USA)

Directed by: Adam McKay

Written by: Adam McKay (story by McKay & David Sirota)

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Rob Morgan, Jonah Hill, Mark Rylance, Tyler Perry, Timothée Chalamet, Ron Perlman, Ariana Grande, Scott Mescudi, Himesh Patel, Melanie Lynskey, Cate Blanchett, Meryl Streep