Happy new year, Greg. Watched this on New Year’s morning with an actor/screenwriter friend.
We have the exact same take as you.
This movie explores exactly what happens when Icarus flies too close to the sun and when Trump and Putin pussy minions make a play, still on going, to undermine democracy and cast us into a specter of misery and defeat.
No one notices at first, and then when some brave souls do and try to speak, the truth is perverted to meet the agenda of the crass narcissists and powermongers, filthy lucre and fame.
Lines delivered for laughs landed cold and hurt, sadly reflective of a society that forsakes spiritual growth and a sense of community for pleasure and instant gratification and avoids accountability and responsibility. Any sense of US and WE is obscured in its passion for I and ME.
There are those who live with the last line running through them though. And so you write, you beseech, you march, you speak, you tweet. You adopt the final words as a lullaby, a call to action, an evening prayer.
You wake up one morning, pack the car and head for DC.
We shared your take, noting that Meryl did a brilliant job portraying an empty-headed, absolutely soulless female version of tfg. Her son's lapdog role mimics that of a certain Chief of Staff I won't name just because I don't want to misuse my fingers by typing out his name!
Which brings me to something else not said (regarding the looming matter of climate disaster) that is mentionable. Without further adding to the spoiler alert, the ending of this film is so apropos. Who tends to reside in mansions on the edge of continents and perched on cliffs and located in the midst of vast expanses of frequently torchable forests? Who among us? Those with the deepest pockets, that's who. The mansion called Mar a Lago, for example, is located on the Palm Beach barrier island with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to the west (according to Wikipedia). When the Antarctic ice shelf shatters within five years, as predicted by scientists just this past month, oceans are estimated to rise by 25%. Of course, that's just one of many outcomes we might anticipate, but all of those fancy gold-plated resort-homes on the edge of Florida and elsewhere will need to convert their roofs to footing of some sort, and it probably won't be suitable for golf courses. And the residents of those Atlantis-mansions will no doubt have to find another escape from "regular folks," perhaps by sea this time, since land will be crowded with peons rushing for available higher ground.
Reminds me of this, Milton Mayer, They thought They aware Free, Germany 1933-1945. ‘“Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained, or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that unless one saw what the whole thing was in principle, what all the ‘little measures’…must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in the field sees the corn growing - each act is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for the one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
You don’t want to talk, or even act, alone. You don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds of thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father never could have imagined.”
We loved it and had much the same take as you did. I loved the clunky acting and overcrowding and idiot newscasters. I think it flies over some heads because it’s happening now, and it’s always hard to satirize the present. Some people probably can’t see the satire in things like Meryl Streep’s goofy wig and the dim looks in many of the characters’ eyes. I want to watch it again to catch the bajillion things I missed in the first watching.
I just finished watching it so I could finish your column and loved it! This film is the very definition of "it's funny because it's true." It took me a few scenes to understand that I was watching Mark Rylance playing something between Steve Jobs and Marshall Applewhite, the Heaven's Gate cult leader of the people that were waiting for Comet Hale-Bopp to take them away from Earth -- it seems apt.
"Don't Look Up" is absolute perfection, which is why the conservatives are railing against it -- they know it's true too. To them it's another socialist, Communistic, Democrat, left-wing movie against them because other than insurrection and sedition, let's not forget their perpetual victimhood too.
Good choice, Greg! From DiCaprio's rant in the TV studio near the end (partially quoted above) to Ariana Grande's concert song -- if anyone here hasn't seen it, drop what you're doing and do yourself a favor in the new year and go watch it!
I thought it was a great film, and actually important in a number of ways. The casting was inspired - (and might help this movie find some audience in need of reaching?) - and the characters were rich, especially the villains who seem to be these recognizable amalgamations of real life titans of tech, awful politicians and eccentric narcissists we see in our real lives. I also loved the smackdown given this evolving digital “metaverse” we inhabit. The tagline for their new device at BASH Industries says it all: “BASH LiiF…for Life without the stress of living.”
Happy New Year, Greg…I don’t know about you, but the scene with all the crazies chanting “Don’t Look Up” was so disturbingly similar to what we’ve seen at Trump rallies…I just felt sickened. We’re definitely teetering at the edge, aren’t we? Thank you for all your insights. There is no one I’d rather read than you.
The question my husband and I have been asking ourselves ever since Trump became the nominee in 2015 is when is it the pitchfork moment? Mobilization seems like the key, and we are so splintered. The professional organizers that took over the Women's March after that first and only truly grassroots march against Trump - that very first weekend he was President - did a huge disservice to the movement to fight Trump.
Happy new year, Greg. Watched this on New Year’s morning with an actor/screenwriter friend.
We have the exact same take as you.
This movie explores exactly what happens when Icarus flies too close to the sun and when Trump and Putin pussy minions make a play, still on going, to undermine democracy and cast us into a specter of misery and defeat.
No one notices at first, and then when some brave souls do and try to speak, the truth is perverted to meet the agenda of the crass narcissists and powermongers, filthy lucre and fame.
Lines delivered for laughs landed cold and hurt, sadly reflective of a society that forsakes spiritual growth and a sense of community for pleasure and instant gratification and avoids accountability and responsibility. Any sense of US and WE is obscured in its passion for I and ME.
There are those who live with the last line running through them though. And so you write, you beseech, you march, you speak, you tweet. You adopt the final words as a lullaby, a call to action, an evening prayer.
You wake up one morning, pack the car and head for DC.
And you don’t stop warning about the comet.
🙏🏻
Thanks for sharing this. Perfectly put. And no, we never stop warning about the comet.
We shared your take, noting that Meryl did a brilliant job portraying an empty-headed, absolutely soulless female version of tfg. Her son's lapdog role mimics that of a certain Chief of Staff I won't name just because I don't want to misuse my fingers by typing out his name!
Which brings me to something else not said (regarding the looming matter of climate disaster) that is mentionable. Without further adding to the spoiler alert, the ending of this film is so apropos. Who tends to reside in mansions on the edge of continents and perched on cliffs and located in the midst of vast expanses of frequently torchable forests? Who among us? Those with the deepest pockets, that's who. The mansion called Mar a Lago, for example, is located on the Palm Beach barrier island with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and Florida's Intracoastal Waterway to the west (according to Wikipedia). When the Antarctic ice shelf shatters within five years, as predicted by scientists just this past month, oceans are estimated to rise by 25%. Of course, that's just one of many outcomes we might anticipate, but all of those fancy gold-plated resort-homes on the edge of Florida and elsewhere will need to convert their roofs to footing of some sort, and it probably won't be suitable for golf courses. And the residents of those Atlantis-mansions will no doubt have to find another escape from "regular folks," perhaps by sea this time, since land will be crowded with peons rushing for available higher ground.
Glad you're feeling better! Happy New Year!
Thanks for that. The irony there about the water rising is...painful, very painful.
Reminds me of this, Milton Mayer, They thought They aware Free, Germany 1933-1945. ‘“Each step was so small, so inconsequential, so well explained, or, on occasion, ‘regretted,’ that unless one saw what the whole thing was in principle, what all the ‘little measures’…must some day lead to, one no more saw it developing from day to day than a farmer in the field sees the corn growing - each act is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for the one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join you in resisting somehow.
You don’t want to talk, or even act, alone. You don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds of thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves, when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things your father never could have imagined.”
I will never get past the fact that we are comparing ourselves to Weimar Germany and it's totally valid. Scary scary scary.
I wish more people were scared.
Thanks for Spoiler Alert -- I stopped right there
We loved it and had much the same take as you did. I loved the clunky acting and overcrowding and idiot newscasters. I think it flies over some heads because it’s happening now, and it’s always hard to satirize the present. Some people probably can’t see the satire in things like Meryl Streep’s goofy wig and the dim looks in many of the characters’ eyes. I want to watch it again to catch the bajillion things I missed in the first watching.
Love this movie so much. If I hadn't seen Dune, this would be my movie of the year. Happy New Year, Greg!
I just finished watching it so I could finish your column and loved it! This film is the very definition of "it's funny because it's true." It took me a few scenes to understand that I was watching Mark Rylance playing something between Steve Jobs and Marshall Applewhite, the Heaven's Gate cult leader of the people that were waiting for Comet Hale-Bopp to take them away from Earth -- it seems apt.
"Don't Look Up" is absolute perfection, which is why the conservatives are railing against it -- they know it's true too. To them it's another socialist, Communistic, Democrat, left-wing movie against them because other than insurrection and sedition, let's not forget their perpetual victimhood too.
Good choice, Greg! From DiCaprio's rant in the TV studio near the end (partially quoted above) to Ariana Grande's concert song -- if anyone here hasn't seen it, drop what you're doing and do yourself a favor in the new year and go watch it!
Happy New Year to all!
I thought it was a great film, and actually important in a number of ways. The casting was inspired - (and might help this movie find some audience in need of reaching?) - and the characters were rich, especially the villains who seem to be these recognizable amalgamations of real life titans of tech, awful politicians and eccentric narcissists we see in our real lives. I also loved the smackdown given this evolving digital “metaverse” we inhabit. The tagline for their new device at BASH Industries says it all: “BASH LiiF…for Life without the stress of living.”
Michigan State University astronomers. Go Green!
Happy New Year, Greg…I don’t know about you, but the scene with all the crazies chanting “Don’t Look Up” was so disturbingly similar to what we’ve seen at Trump rallies…I just felt sickened. We’re definitely teetering at the edge, aren’t we? Thank you for all your insights. There is no one I’d rather read than you.
The question my husband and I have been asking ourselves ever since Trump became the nominee in 2015 is when is it the pitchfork moment? Mobilization seems like the key, and we are so splintered. The professional organizers that took over the Women's March after that first and only truly grassroots march against Trump - that very first weekend he was President - did a huge disservice to the movement to fight Trump.