By Finnlay Victor Dall
Don’t even bother putting a VPN on for this one, folks. Despite the explosive source material, director and co-writer Daniel Goldhaber’s fictional adaptation fizzles out with flat characters, a dulled edginess, and some mixed messages.
The premise is as follows: young people, personally disenfranchised by the lethal consequences of the climate crisis, form an impromptu environmental crew with one goal: blow up an oil pipeline. Sounds like the heist movie/impossible mission of the century, right? Well, besides the tense plot and dynamic camerawork borrowing from the likes of Mr. Robot and the Ocean’s series, there isn’t much to write home (presumably from a prison cell) about.
I must admit the opening few minutes had me. It brought me back to Michael Mann’s Heat, where the audience is immediately thrust into a plan of insane proportions, drip-fed to us through little glimpses of each character performing their one task to a tee (although in this heist they are all seemingly well versed in chemistry and engineering).
But then Goldhaber just had to have a close-up on Xochitl (Ariela Barer, who also co-wrote the movie) as she stared into a hole being dug for the first explosive. My first thought: “They’re going to have backstory flashbacks in this aren’t they?” Every time a title card came up, I prepared myself for disappointment. There is nothing wrong with fleshing out characters, especially with such a diverse cast. However, most of these protagonists have ten minutes each dedicated to moments that would have been more intriguing if left unseen or alluded to in the present. You know, like a well written movie would do. Instead, we got a project that wanted so badly to be a prestige tv series that it condensed itself to a hundred minutes so it would get the attention of streamer execs at Sundance. As a result, three well-rounded characters get spread thin over eight cardboard cutouts.
I can’t really write about the messaging (beyond fossil fuels and fossil fuel companies being bad) without heading into spoilers, so if you don’t want the ‘will they, won’t they’ of pipeline explosions to be ruined for you, here is your final warning.
3… 2… 1…
KABOOM! Surprise, they blow it up! And now, thanks to a viral TikTok, the group have invited copycats to follow in their footsteps. We get a quick credits montage culminating in a post credits scene of more bombs being placed on a private yacht. See, a pipeline made sense. You’re going straight for the oil tycoon’s wallets, raising awareness on a global scale, and making gas unviable. You attack some guy’s yacht; you’re just pissing off a single millionaire. This might be Goldhaber’s way of referring to some sort of slippery slope. But I must have cracked my skull open on the way down because I have no idea if he thinks this was clever. Either he thinks some random yuppie’s property and a pipeline are equal grounds for destruction or he thinks the woke mob’s gone too far and a more centre-left approach is needed. Either way, he comes off as misinformed at best and basic at worst.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a political messterpiece with alright action and decent casting that fails to provide anything of substance besides parroting its nonfiction source material. Hopefully, if cameras haven’t melted in the next decade, someone more competent will have a crack at adapting it!
How to Blow Up a Pipeline can currently be seen at the Melbourne International Film Festival (running from August 3rd until the 20th in cinemas, and online through MIFF Play from the 18th until the 27th). For sessions on standby, some tickets may become available to purchase after 5 pm the night before the session, or you can join the standby queues at venues on the day, which do not guarantee entry but generally have a high success rate. Interested in writing a review of anything in exchange for a free ticket? Just fill out this form or send us an email at unimelbfilmsoc@gmail.com.
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