The BBC reports that reviews for Netflix's Don't Look Up are mixed.

On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 54% and 91% score from critics and audiences respectively.

Its official trailer is quite good. If representative of the whole film rather than just an expertly cut promo, then it looks like a winner.

What could be happening here?

One possibility is politics.

While this film is about the importance of paying attention to science and most critics are probably very on board with that, there is potentially a hidden whammy they don't care for.

During an interview with Jennifer Lawrence, Variety reporter Karen Valby made a meteoric discovery.

It’s only after our first interview that I learn that Lawrence was paid $25 million for the movie, compared to DiCaprio’s $30 million. In other words, she made 83 cents to his dollar. These figures are in startling line with Bureau of Labor Statistics data that showed annual earnings for women working full-time in 2020 were 82.3 percent of men’s. That gap is tragically wider for women of color in Hollywood and beyond.

When I talk to Lawrence next, I point out the bitter irony of her making less than the man below her on the call sheet. “Yeah, I saw that too,” she says, choosing her words carefully. “Look, Leo brings in more box office than I do. I’m extremely fortunate and happy with my deal. But in other situations, what I have seen—and I’m sure other women in the workforce have seen as well—is that it’s extremely uncomfortable to inquire about equal pay. And if you do question something that appears unequal, you’re told it’s not gender disparity but they can’t tell you what exactly it is.”

Other sites picked up on the interview but most didn't repeat this detail.

Neither Jennifer nor Variety come right out and say it but the implication is obvious.

With Jennifer Lawrence having been an outspoken critic of gender wage disparity for actors, being offered this role with that particular wage difference is remarkable. It is in relation to an older, more experienced and bigger name actor, so Jennifer can only reasonably defend the difference.

Mmmm.

Not really a fair or accurate analogy to most workplace positions and that would be easy enough to explain, but we didn't hear that. Or anything really.

Now we're seeing mixed reviews.

Have some critics decided or been convinced to be stingy because of this pay thing?

If so, that would be exceptionally shortsighted. This film has released in cinemas but will also release on Netflix in a few weeks.

Mixed or poor reviews might deter some paying movie-goers but if you already have Netflix - it's the leading streaming service so many do - then it only costs you a few minutes to press play and see and judge for yourself.

If the critics are wrong then this just becomes another example of why you can't trust them.

We won't see Don't Look Up ourselves until it arrives on Netflix on December 24 so won't know for sure what to make of this one until then.

[ Main Image: Don't Look Up. Credit: Netflix via IMDb.com. ]

References

BBC. (December 8, 2021). Don't Look Up: Mixed reviews for Leonardo DiCaprio satire.

Netflix (November 17, 2021). Don't Look Up | Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence | Official Trailer | Netflix. YouTube.

Rotten Tomatoes. Don't Look Up. (viewed December 11, 2021)