Meryl Streep is the perfect casting choice as the president in Adam McKay’s upcoming film Don’t Look Up. In a career in film spanning over 35 years, Streep has become perhaps the most well-respected actress of a generation. She is one of only seven actors to have ever won three or more performance Oscars, and her staggering 21 nominations make her the most Oscar-nominated actor in history. Yet, despite an already impressive Hollywood career, this new role in Don't Look Up marks an interesting and exciting turn for the actress.
Don’t Look Up centers around two astronomers, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence, who discover a world-ending comet that is set to collide with the Earth within six months. With limited time until impact, the two set off on a press tour to convince the public of their impending doom, only to be met with apathy and disbelief. The film seems to serve as an allegory for the fight against climate change, especially considering the casting of DiCaprio, a noted and outspoken conservationist.
Streep plays an indifferent president alongside her sycophantic son and Chief of Staff, played by Jonah Hill. It seems almost hard to believe, but in the more than 75 films in her career, this will be the first time that Streep has portrayed an American president. 2011’s The Iron Lady saw Streep as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, a role that secured her third and most recent Oscar win, but Don’t Look Up will be her first venture into the Oval Office. With her widespread respectability, authoritative manner of speaking, and history of playing stern and unreasonable characters, Streep’s turn as the president feels long overdue.
Streep has a reputation for taking difficult, nuanced, and powerful roles, and portraying a female American president faced with a global catastrophe seems like the perfect fit. Although the film deals with a somewhat heavy subject matter while criticizing the current state of journalistic and social media, Don’t Look Up seems to be more of a light-hearted satirization than an outright indictment, making Streep’s role all the more exciting. After decades of tackling serious, Oscar-worthy projects, Streep is at a point in her career where she can be a bit choosier with the roles that she accepts. She has been taking smaller and more standout parts in recent years, and four of her five last films have been comedies. As it is difficult to imagine that the legendary actress is short on opportunities, even in a time plagued by delayed movie releases and stalled projects, Streep's work of late would seem to suggest a desire to branch out into projects that are a bit more enjoyable for her, and Don’t Look Up is a welcomed continuation of that trend.
Although it certainly wouldn’t be surprising if Streep winds up being nominated for her role, it seems unlikely that she accepted it in pursuit of another Oscar. Seeing her talents put to use for no reason other than her love of the craft is wonderful, and to watch her do just that alongside the powerhouse cast of actors featured in Don’t Look Up promises to be an exciting and gratifying experience for both her and her audience.
