Smith’s Verdict: ***1/2
Reviewed by Tanner Smith
There’s a new film now streaming on Hulu that I checked out–and it’s a solid contender for my year-end list. It’s called “How to Blow Up a Pipeline,” and it’s a riveting, character-driven, most likely controversial thriller that is set in the here and now but is also in the great tradition of thrillers from the ’70s and ’80s in terms of tone and pacing.
Think less “Sound of Freedom” and more “3 Days of the Condor.”
And I was about ready to call this film “Woke Fetish” when its statements about climate change, eminent domain, and selected sabotage (more property over people so that no one gets hurt) make themselves known fairly early on. But this film values character and ethical interpretation over all else, and so I was never bored.
The film, based on a non-fiction book of the same name, is more or less a political manifesto (or an eco-thriller) done like a heist thriller. It follows a group of environmental activists who have a plan to blow up an oil pipeline–two, actually; one in Texas, the other in California. One of the Texas “eco-warriors” (played by Jake Weary) has a very specific reason for targeting the oil company: to get back at them as they try to run a pipeline through his family homestead by abusing “eminent domain” laws that let governments seize private property for construction projects. The California ringleader (played by the script’s co-writer, Ariela Barer of “Runaways” fame) rallies a group of individuals (a film student, an explosives expert, and others) for a very specific plan after being in the shadows of Long Beach refineries for too long.
Or, as someone cynically puts it: “She reads a book, and suddenly she thinks she can save the world?”
The film is told in non-linear fashion as we begin with the characters about to carry out their plan, and them BAM! We flash back to see where one particular character is coming from. The main story is told chronologically while we randomly get character backgrounds that often get distracting but mostly make way for a unique plot twist or two.
Each of these characters has a reason to join–one has terminal cancer from toxic chemicals and of course the US health system isn’t helpful (this film likes to show connections wherever they can be found); one is a Native American whose people in North Dakota have been given the s**t end of the stick for centuries; one seeks to get away from privilege and further into individualism; and so on. The only one to show any signs of nervousness is the girlfriend of one of the crew (played by Jayme Lawson), who really has no reason to be there except for support.
All of the actors are strong, but I especially liked Forrest Goodluck (whom I’ve liked in films like “The Revenant,” “I Used to Go Here,” and “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”) as Michael, the most extreme member of the bunch, and Kristine Froseth (“Sharp Stick,” “Looking for Alaska”) as Rowan, one-half of a wisecracking Bonnie-and-Clyde duo, who are more like idealized youngsters in over their heads, whose mission is to shut off the pipeline flow–Rowan’s story might arguably be the most complicated, and that’s all I’ll say about that.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” teaches a good amount of discipline in how revolutionary groups go about these acts of environmental terrorism. Don’t get distracted, don’t mess up, plan ahead, stick to the schedule, etc.–otherwise, these people are likely to get arrested or worse. And what’s important that this film captures is that for all the characters’ talk about why they do all of this, who they compare themselves to while doing this, and, yikes, historical comparisons…these are all just young adults who are still roughly adolescent and think more on instinctive than intellectual levels. And yes, some things go according to plan–but others do not, and they just have to wing it because they’re committed to the cause.
Now, here’s where the film will probably draw controversy: the film doesn’t ask you to judge these people; in fact, it can be argued that it endorses their ideas, which may rub people the wrong way.
But you know what? I’ll take a film that isn’t afraid to take those chances if it means those in big business could be coerced to keep a tighter lid to what is hazardous to people and do the revolutionaries a favor by actually giving a damn about the people–especially when the alternative is a film that simply plays it too safe.
“How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is available on Hulu.
Smith's Verdict 