‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ Movie Review: Anxiety Cinema Meets Eco Activism
Daniel Goldhaber’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline mixes a thoughtful social commentary on our fossil fuel-laden society with the anxiety-ridden structure of a Safdie Brothers’ film with staggering results.
Daniel Goldhaber’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline opens in the middle of the action, as Xochitl (Ariela Barer), Theo (Sasha Lane), Michael (Forrest Goodluck), Logan (Lukas Gage), Rowan (Kristine Froseth), Alisha (Jayme Lawson), Shawn (Marcus Scribner) and Dwayne (Jake Weary) prepare to leave to West Texas, where they are set to explode a pipeline installed by an oil company to wake up the population on the devastating effects of climate change.
After Xochitl’s mother passes away during a heat wave and her friend Theo develops a rare form of terminal cancer from living near an oil refinery in Long Beach, California, she quickly becomes disillusioned by passive action for climate change. Xochitl believes that only radical change can save the planet, making her (and her group of friends) an “eco-terrorist,” where an extreme act is committed to supporting the planet. Of course, we’ve seen some ecological anarchy in the media over the past few years, with many performative actions done by activists backfiring spectacularly through social media. But Xochitl’s desire to awaken the world to the harsh realities of climate change goes in a more violent and explosive direction.
Each member of Xochitl’s team has reasons why they’re uniting themselves for radical action. Climate change has respectively affected every one of them. Part of the mystery surrounding How to Blow Up a Pipeline’s incredible opening scene is how the characters met and why they’re doing this. No matter: Gavin Brivik’s pulse-pounding score ensures audiences remain clenched to their seats from beginning to end. Brivik’s synth-heavy compositions are highly reminiscent of Oneohtrix Point Never’s (Daniel Lopatin) works with the Safdies’ Good Time and Uncut Gems. How to Blow Up a Pipeline has the structure of a Safdie brothers film: there’s never an actual moment of rest with the characters. It’s a race against time to: a) craft the bombs, b) install the explosives, and c) blow up the pipeline.
The only moment of “rest” the film offers to the audience is when it sporadically goes back in time to fill in the gaps on its core protagonists. What led them to this very moment? But it’s not necessarily “rest” for the audience. The tension progressively builds up as we learn more about them. They’re all in a race against time — Theo will die, Dwayne’s home will be unlivable, and Rowan…well…I’ll leave you to watch the film for yourself. Goldhaber will quickly show different elements of its protagonists, foreshadowing what audiences will know when he cuts them to a small flashback, which always occurs at the apex of a tension-filled moment.
Instead of letting the audience know what happened after a ridiculously tense scene, Goldhaber always cuts to a flashback, lingering the suspense for an even bigger moment. So it’s not “rest.” It wants the audience to say, “Get on with it!” so they can see what happened before that flashback. But it’s also an ingenious way to keep the audience on their toes from beginning to end and immerse them further into a rather simple story. Tehillah De Castro’s cinematography and Daniel Garber’s editing borrow heavily from the Safdies, who in turn borrowed a lot from Michael Mann. There are a lot of Mann techniques throughout the movie, but it feels more in line with the contemporary anxiety cinema of Good Time and Uncut Gems, two of the best films of the 2010s.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline doesn’t have a single bad performance. Barer’s turn as Xochitl is completely different from her breakout role in Marvel’s Runaways, while Froseth, Lane, Lawson, and Goodluck are significant highlights. Everyone has their time to shine, and the audience gets to understand their arcs as the film progresses. The audience is locked in because of its aesthetic and because Goldhaber draws in impeccable performances from highly talented actors who have only briefly had time to shine on screen before. How to Blow Up a Pipeline has career-best performances from Barer, Lane, and Froseth, who are quickly becoming three of the most exciting talents in Hollywood right now.
Aside from being incredibly entertaining, How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn’t afraid to stir a conversation, especially regarding radical action in the wake of devastating climate change. Even if you disagree with the actions the characters are taking to make their point, you may end up leaving the theater asking questions about how a radical event could stir up many more in the hopes of a systemic change from our deciders who have continuously turned a blind eye on the devastating impacts of climate change. At the same time, billions of people will die from catastrophic events if nothing is done. Goldhaber doesn’t bludgeon you over the head with this argument (unlike the dreadful Don’t Look Up) but weaves it naturally through the story. The result will make you want to leave the theater enraged by the big oil companies filling their pockets while inadvertently affecting the lives of millions of people. It’s one of the best movies of the year, and will hopefully be remembered as one of the most powerful anti-oil films ever made.