Don’t look up hits its detractors in the face and I love it

Netflix is aiming high at the 2022 Oscars thanks to some 27 nominations leading The Power of the Dog and Don’t Look Up. That is the largest number of applications for a study this year. That the first is the most nominated with 12 is understandable, after all, we are facing the great favorite without a doubt. But that the second follows in the footsteps with 4 is a surprise to bow to the Academy.

And it is that when Do not look up came to Netflix last Christmas, many were not betting on sneaking it into the race for the Oscars. Several critics reflected their rejection as well as a good handful of spectators, criticizing above all its simplistic premise, ironic humor and even crossing out the “waste” of a cast of giants. But the Oscars make the film elevate its position to give those detractors a full face. And I couldn’t agree more.   

 

Adam McKay’s social satire, which ridicules human nature with a climate change metaphor, has four nominations for best original score, best editing, best original screenplay and, to top it off, best picture. That is to say, Don’t look up competes for the highest statuette with great favorites such as Belfast, Licorice Pizza, and The power of the dog, in addition to CODA, Drive my car, Dune, The Williams method, The alley of lost souls and West Side Story. Ten candidates, one award, and the Netflix film being the only satire among all the nominees.

And such recognition deserves a separate analysis because of all the nominees it is, without a doubt, the film that most divided critics and audiences. Without going any further, this apocalyptic black comedy reached the platform full of mixed reviews where all kinds of opinions fit. The greatest criticism of the experts focused on pointing out such a high ambition that it did not finish fulfilling its purpose, while Netflix users did not stop watching it but dumped as many negative as positive reviews on Twitter and movie rating platforms. ( Don’t Look Up was viewed some 358.9 million hours in its first 28 days on the platform, making it Netflix’s second-most-watched movie in the same period.)

For example, in RottenTomatoe the critics value it with a 56% approval rating, being the lowest rating of the specialists of all the candidates for best film (Belfast 87%, CODA 96%, Drive my car 98%, Dune 83%, The Williams method 90%, Licorice Pizza 91%, The Alley of Lost Souls 80%, The Power of the Dog 94% and West Side Story 92%), while the public scores it better with 78%. In Metacritic, the assessment is lower with a disapproved score of 49 points out of 100, while in MDB users rate it with a 7.2/10. That is to say, in a nutshell, that the assessments reflect an evident division of opinions that do not end up reaching a unanimous conclusion.

While several critics applaud Adam McKay’s satirical effort to put us face to face and without sweeteners with the most bitter face of society, with the powerful watching their pockets with a metaphorical analysis of how the world is headed for its most selfish end, others They branded it “failure on several levels”, being too long, repeating jokes, even “insulting its audience” and having “a ridiculous story”. (RottenTomatoes). Meanwhile, other slaps arose on Twitter that described Meryl Streep’s performance as the worst of her career while several expressed her discontent.

 

However, the Academy’s nomination including it in the category of the best film reflects the importance that the film industry has given to the sensationalism of its message. In the same year that we can embrace the film awards with cinephile love for having paid more attention to cinematographic quality than commercial quality (leaving out Lady Gaga and Jared Leto despite the strong campaign supported by their fans and including Kristen Stewart as the best actress after being the unjustly forgotten one in the awards season) that Don’t look up aims high in the main category tells us about a Hollywood willing to open its doors to streaming and see beyond the classic Oscar movie.

I think I’m not wrong in predicting that it won’t win the main statuette (I leave that wish to The Power of the Dog ), but it seems like a cinematographic success to include it to demonstrate the desire for variety, to see all kinds of cinema as a good movie and give credibility to one of the most successful satires of recent years.

Don’t look up may not have convinced everyone in the same way, but it is still one of the great successes of Netflix and the most devastating comedies with a message for the whole world. A film that plays a black comedy to impress us with a reflection of human stupidity that manages to stay in the memory despite the thanks. And only a good movie can do that.