How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2023) Review!!

Synopsis – A crew of environmental activists plot a daring plan to disrupt an oil pipeline.

My Take – While terrorism is, well, terrorism mainly because it is moronic to justify all the damage and loss of life irrespective of the cause/religion/moment it represents, however, the same gets a little complicated when one talks about Eco-terrorism. The extreme actions taken are indeed are wrong, but is their stance?

As a result, in a time defined by government inaction on the climate crisis, which is already responsible for the deaths of millions, there is a certain catharsis in watching a film, which centers on a group of young activists who decide to fight for their future. A film that highlights that climate disaster isn’t a passive problem, it’s a doom we’re actively being ferried towards, through ruthless, unthinking capitalist expansion. Making this one the kind of righteous heist film our planet actually needs.

Debuting at 2022’s Toronto International Film Festival to critical acclaim, contrary to its title, the book is not an instruction manual but a fictional story loosely based on the non-fiction manifesto book by eco-Marxist author and professor Andreas Malm, and sees director Daniel Goldhaber (CAM), who co-wrote the script with Ariela Barer and Jordan Sjol, use examples of activism to create a tightly wound against-time thriller. All while capturing something meaningful, remarkably current, and emotionally compelling.

Yes, the character archetypes are a little on the nose at times, but the script is so good that you understand the extremists and their motivation, one that calls for the cause but without an ecological disaster.

The story follows a group of young eight environmental activists, exasperated and out of options, who put a daring plan in action to sabotage a crucial pipeline of an oil infrastructure in West Texas, hoping to inspire others with their example and disrupt the global oil supply.

Led primarily by Xochitl (Ariela Barer), whose impotent fury is focused by the sudden death of her mother, the rest of the group consists of Xochitl’s childhood friend Theo (Sasha Lane), who has been diagnosed with leukemia that likely stemmed from pollution where they grew up, and her girlfriend, Alisha (Jayme Lawson); Shawn (Marcus Scribner), a relatable every man, a climate activist who, like many, is despairing at the lack of progress earned by conventional methods.

Michael (Forrest Goodluck), a short-fused loner Native American, who has been teaching himself to make improvised bombs, furious about the oil rigs that dominate the landscape of the Dakotas; Dwayne (Jake Weary), a blue-collar Texan and God-fearing family man, who is prompted to act when his family’s land is requisitioned by an oil company; Logan (Lukas Gage) and Rowan (Kristine Froseth), a couple who cannot keep their hands off each other, who are dealing with the aftermath of a previous arrest that may threaten the entire project.

Of course, not everything goes to plan: an accidental detonation, a surveillance drone, security guards, and broken equipment all ratchet up the tension, priming the viewers for an ecstatic release. Meanwhile, the characters’ individual stories are deftly woven through the action, each startling and realistic enough to put standard blockbusters to shame.

On the surface, the film may come across as an environment protection film or even a product of woke millennial agenda, something you’ve seen in recent films over the past few years. However, director Daniel Goldhaber’s film is much more tightly focused, unsentimental, and succinctly captures the omnipotence that comes with a story about youthful dissidents.

Tense and tightly plotted, the film is existentially terrifying but not nihilistic. It’s an exciting, humanist eco-thriller that figures there’s still time to take action, but only so much. The script also welcomes fascinating contradictions, especially around the idea that spreading awareness is no longer enough, which in turn prompts important questions about the necessary actions to be taken. Some characters emerge as more compelling than others, each gets their story shared on screen. Everyone has their own reasons for participating in this struggle.

Adding well-plotted and paced backstories in flashbacks gives additional weight to the film’s best scenes and greater context. In particular, the environmental atrocities affect Barer and Lane’s characters the most. Yes, the film is rather hazier when it comes to the consequences of the sabotage, although one character concedes that it will, inevitably, be the poorest members of society that take the hardest hit from a breakdown in the supply chain of fossil fuels. This is one of several areas in which the film comes up short.

Nevertheless, the ensemble cast consisting of Ariela Barer, Sasha Lane, Kristine Froseth, Jayme Lawson, Lukas Gage, Forrest Goodluck, Marcus Scribner and Jake Weary shines spectacularly. On the whole, ‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ is a volatile political thriller that is throughout gripping.