Don’t Look Up | When science takes its revenge

In an attempt to make his contemporaries aware of the serious dangers threatening the planet, Adam McKay took great measures: humor and satire. For his new film, he has assembled a prestigious cast dominated by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence. He also replaced the melting of glaciers with a gigantic comet …

Marc-André Lussier
Press

First recognized thanks to frank comedies (Anchorman, Talladega nights), Adam McKay has since turned to social humor (The Big Short) and politics (Vice). Driven by a sense of urgency about the phenomenon of climate change, outraged by the lightness with which humanity faces the problem, the filmmaker imagined what would happen if, for example, astronomers discovered a wide comet of nine kilometers which would head straight towards Earth. If nothing was done, this one would have the potential to destroy the whole planet so much the impact would be grandiose. In short, the end of the world would take place in six months.

“At the beginning, I intended to make a real drama out of it, but now, because of everything that has happened in recent years, with the pandemic on top of that, we need too much to laugh, Adam McKay said during a virtual press conference which was also attended by several actors. It is also a very human reflex to use humor, even in the midst of the worst tragedies! ”

Disbelief and bad faith

The story is thus built around the disbelief – and sometimes bad faith – with which relentless bad news is greeted, coming from the depths of the solar system. Jennifer Lawrence embodies a brilliant graduate in astronomy, whose appalling discovery is quickly corroborated by her professor emeritus (Leonardo DiCaprio). Neither the President of the United States (Meryl Streep) nor her son (Jonah Hill), nepotistically appointed Chief of Staff, nor the co-hosts hop the life of the most popular morning TV show (Cate Blanchett and Tyler Perry), don’t take the scientists’ warning seriously.

“Science has been taken a lot of beating,” said Leonardo DiCaprio. Through this story, Adam succeeded in illustrating how science has become a political issue in a world where alternative facts circulate. ”

“It’s so frustrating to see people dismiss out of hand the conclusions of scientists who dedicate their entire lives to research,” adds Jennifer Lawrence.

Leonardo DiCaprio, whose environmentalist streak is well known, also says he appreciates the way in which Adam McKay created two very distinct scientific personalities. The graduate is more militant and brash, like Greta Thunberg, while the professor tries to better measure his words so that it is still audible to those who do not want to hear it.

“I especially like the way in which Adam shows how the truth is difficult to assert itself and how it is often found diverted for the benefit of an ideology, underlines the actor. I think that in this very special time, this film is very important. ”

Despite its serious subject, several gags punctuate this feature film whose title evokes a slogan borrowed by supporters of the President of the United States. A climatosceptic and reluctant to follow the conclusions of science, the latter urges his flock to look at the ground rather than the sky, so as not to give in to the stories of fear told by those obsessed with the comet. Any resemblance to existing politicians is obviously fortuitous and is pure coincidence.

“I did not take inspiration from someone in particular to compose my character because there are so many people in the public space today putting forward absurd ideas,” said Meryl Streep. However, joining the public service is so demanding that we are surprised to see quality people dedicate themselves to it. Fortunately there are, because we need them more than ever! ”

A hard-hitting scandal

The character of the professor embodied by Leonardo DiCaprio being initially of a calmer nature, the desperate outrage he makes live on television so that his message finally passes to his contemporaries becomes all the more impactful. The actor puts such intensity into it that this sequence certainly takes on a cathartic value, as much for him as for all those who remain faithful to science.

“We had to rework this speech about fifty times, specifies the one we had not seen on a cinema screen since. Once upon a time in hollywood, by Quentin Tarantino. I tried to verbalize the frustration of the scientific community, whose alerts are ignored when everything is collapsing. It was like taking off the civilized professional’s costume and going straight to the crudest truth. ”

Leonardo Dicaprio is all the more proud of this film as he had been looking for a project for a long time where this kind of subject would be addressed.

“It’s the kind of subject where you wonder what difference you can make on an individual level and how you can contribute to the cause,” he says. I believe that with this scenario, Adam [McKay] found the safe combination and found the perfect way to talk about it. The survival of the planet is at stake. This subject should fill our conversations regularly. It takes an artist like Adam to make us aware of this. It is an honor for me to be a part of this film. ”

Don’t Look Up (Cosmic denial in French version) hits theaters on December 10 and hits Netflix on December 24.