Don’t Look Up Director Celebrates How Netflix Movie Is Dividing Audiences

Adam McKay, the critically acclaimed director of Don’t Look Up, celebrates the divided response to his film from critics and audiences. Don’t Look Up follows two low-level astronomers, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, as they try to initiate a response to an impending comet impact. The film, which comes off the back of Vice, satirizes the state of politics, how tribalism can be fueled by misinformation, and humanity’s inability to comprehend and deal with existential threats.

While the film has been nominated in multiple categories for multiple awards, Don’t Look Up has received a mixed critical response. Many critics have praised the performances of the cast, the salience of its themes, and its score, but the film has also been criticized for its heavy-handedness, and comedy that occasionally falls flat. Nevertheless, the film has been immensely successful on Netflix by audience metrics, and interest has no doubt been supported by its star-studded ensemble cast. 

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Now, in an interview with IndieWire, the film’s director shares his feelings about Don’t Look Up’s mixed reception. McKay recognizes that the film has drawn negative reviews as well as positive ones, but welcomes them equally, saying that “it’s really good” to have a divided response. The director does, however, say that some criticism was “utterly ridiculous.” Check out McKay’s full comments below:

The only reason I did that was because when people watch the movie and they’re especially freaked out about what’s happening they tend to respond to it a little better. Someone jumped on it and said, ‘Oh, you’re saying if we don’t like the movie we don’t care about the climate,’ which is utterly ridiculous. No human being would ever say that. I gotta laugh, because it’s right out of the movie. Suddenly, it became like I was saying critics can’t say anything, and of course they can. It’s important to have debate and passionate critics. We’re living at a time like no other and stories are part of it. People should be hating them, loving them, going back and forth. […] We welcome the negative reviews. I actually think it’s really good, that people should be fighting and passionate about it.

McKay’s intervention will be welcomed by those who were less impressed by the film, as debate about film criticism between fans and critics can get overly heated (especially when conducted online). The director’s comments also fall in line with several other filmmakers who have the same attitude about divided opinion on a film being a positive thing, such as Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson. Hopefully, McKay’s words can be seized upon by audiences and critics seeking to have polite discussions about Don’t Look Up and other films, even if they disagree.

Now that discourse around the film has quieted down, audiences will begin to look to the accelerating awards season to see how Don’t Look Up fares. At the recent Golden Globes, the film was nominated for Best Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Screenplay, and two acting categories, where Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence were nominated. The film failed to pick up any wins on the night, but it’s increasingly likely that Don’t Look Up will receive a decent number of nominations at this year’s Academy Awards, even if it doesn’t end up taking any wins. While Don’t Look Up’s conclusion pretty much rules out any chance of a sequel, fans of the film will be eagerly anticipating more work from McKay, and new information about the director’s upcoming projects.

Source: IndieWire

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