Eco-‘terrorism’ is explored in this tense and pulsating thriller about a group of environmental activists planning to bomb an oil pipeline in Texas as they try to find a precarious balance between agency and morality.
Review #2,591
Dir. Daniel Goldhaber
2022 | USA | Drama/Thriller | 99 min | 1.85:1 | English
Refused classification – exceeds R21 guidelines
Cast: Ariela Barer, Forrest Goodluck, Sasha Lane
Plot: A crew of young environmental activists execute a daring mission to sabotage an oil pipeline.
Awards: Nom. for Platform Prize (Toronto)
International Sales: Charades
Accessibility Index
Subject Matter: Slightly Mature – Eco-Terrorism; Environmental & Health Issues
Narrative Style: Slightly Complex
Pace: Normal
Audience Type: Slightly Mainstream
Viewed: Screener
Spoilers: No
With such an eye-catching title, How to Blow Up a Pipeline will surely raise the eyebrows of film enthusiasts hoping to watch something that might be described as incendiary.
The film is as controversial as it sounds as a group of young environmental activists plan an elaborate ploy to bomb an oil pipeline in Texas. Well, they are extremely pissed at how the rich capitalists are not only destroying the environment but causing irreversible damage to the health of innocent people.
So, their brand of ‘eco-terrorism’, which is only meant to disrupt infrastructure and the supply chain, finds a precarious balance between agency and morality.
There may not be any blood on their hands but should one really resort to such ‘non-violent’ extreme acts to make a point? The matter is debatable of course, and in director Daniel Goldhaber’s tense and pulsating thriller, it becomes an act of resistance but not without its fair share of consequences.
“We need to take more drastic action.”
A loose adaptation of the non-fiction book by Andreas Malm, this American indie introduces us to the various characters in a rather interesting way: as the main plotline progresses, we get periodic intertitles with each character’s name interjecting the narrative, giving us some background as to why they have joined the cause.
Some of these ‘interjections’ even boldly disrupt key scenes or anticipation of key moments, yet somehow everything flows coherently and compellingly.
For the most part, How to Blow Up a Pipeline uses genre elements to great effect—some of the scenes of the activists testing and planting homemade bombs are as suspenseful as, say, Jeremy Renner deactivating bombs in The Hurt Locker (2009). Goldhaber’s work is a reminder that the evils of capitalistic exploitation will continue to exist.
Grade: B+
Trailer:
Music:
Eternality Tan 