A crew of environmental activists plot a daring plan to disrupt an oil pipeline.
Chuck says:
Driven by a sense of genuine urgency and buoyed by practical, if flawed, logic Daniel Goldhaber’s “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” is a real-world thriller that forcefully makes a case for domestic terrorism in the face of the environmental crisis. Taking concepts laid out in the non-fiction book by Andreas Malm, the screenplay by Ariela Barer, Jordan Sjol and Goldhaber imagines a group of young activists plotting to disrupt the flow of a pipeline in West Texas. Playing like a heist movie, we see the intricate plans they put together to pull off this brazen crime, one that seems destined for success until it, as we know it inevitably will, jumps the tracks with tragic results.
Utilizing a fragmented timeline, Goldhaber shows us the scheme unfolding, stopping at key junctures to insert flashbacks, each devoted to the backstories on the ersatz terrorists. Xochitl (Barer), having just losther mother, is adrift and without purpose, eager to make a difference in the world. Vulnerable, she’s susceptible to the radical talk she hears when she returns to college, falling under the sway of fellow student Shawn (Marcus Scribner) who’s tired of seeing his efforts to affect change not make any impact. Dwayne (Jake Weary) is bitter over the fact that the oil companies took his farm from him through eminent domain so the pipeline could go through his property, while Native American Michael (Forrest Goodluck) also harbors a sense of rage towards society and wants to strike back.
Meanwhile, Theo (Sasha Lane), diagnosed with leukemia she feels has been caused by her living closely to an oil refinery all her life, convinces her girlfriend Alisha (Jayme Lawson) to join her in the crusade, while Logan (Lukas Gage) and Rowan (Kristine Froseth) are just a couple of rich kids looking to cause trouble. Each of these characters meet via the great unifier of the 21st century, social media and before you know it, they have convened at an abandoned home not far from their target, building bombs, ready to take on the world.
While it doesn’t have the high-gloss sheen of “Ocean’s Eleven” and isn’t quite as compelling as the criminally overlooked “American Animals,” Goldhaber is able to create a sense of ever-mounting tension as one minor error snowballs into an ever-mounting series of catastrophes. The insertion of the flashbacks smack of cruelty at times, their appearance coming just as things are reaching a boiling point time and again during the crime. This proves to be a simple but very effective way to consistently build the edge-of-your-seat suspense that’s sustained until the film’s bracing conclusion.
Cinematographer Tehillah De Castro utilizes natural light throughout though diffuses many of the scenes to give the film a washed out look. There are no dazzling sunsets or awe-inspiring vistas on display; rather the world is seen as wounded, drained, having lost its natural vitality, subtly underscoring what the characters are fighting for. This, coupled with Goldhaber’s numerous hand-held shots and documentary style give the movie a sense of terrifying immediacy.
The cast is uniformly fine, as a unit capturing the sense of naïve idealism and embracing the power of rash actions, both of which are akin to that age. Whether or not “Pipeline” advocates the radical approach it portrays is open to debate, yet it is an effective call for action, where addressing climate change is concerned. However, its portrayal of how the vulnerable are seduced through social media is perhaps its most frightening aspect, as is the notion that there are no easy solutions to both of the problems it examines.
3 1/2 Stars
