‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ (2023) Review: A Radical Climate Activism Movie
Daniel Goldhaber’s How to Blow Up a Pipeline is an eco-thriller based on Andreas Malm’s novel that highlights climate action. It doesn’t provide clear instructions but argues that the need for a difference in climate activism makes a noticeable impact. Since protests aren’t working, sabotaging the oil fields will likely achieve more results. Goldhaber’s movie presents a thrilling adventure that slowly reveals the plans set by the characters while also indicating the personal tolls it has had on their lives.
The movie follows Xochitl (Ariela Barer), the leader who recruits people to sabotage the property. Micheal (Forrest Goodluck) is the bomb expert; Theo (Sasha Lane), who is terminally ill, and her partner, Alisha (Jayme Lawson); Dwayne (Jake Weary) fights to keep his part of the land; the romantic duo, Logan (Lukas Gage) and Rowan (Kristine Froseth); lastly, Shawn (Marcus Scribner), who joins Xochitl when she takes a bold stand to make an unforgettable change in their protests. The group forms a coalition by understanding their roles and purposes to make a stand for climate activism.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline introduces the characters’ reasons through a non-linear narrative structure. Each character has a personal reason why they must follow the coalition and destroy the pipeline, which affects their livelihoods. Xochitl, who attends college, has protested with a group, but when she suggests trying a different way to protest. But she is left out. Shawn joins her, and the plan slowly comes to fruition when the rest of the group joins them. All of them are exhausted and out of options after protesting “the right way” for years. Their stories highlight the losses and pain they’ve received from the dangerous impact of the lack of climate change. Goldhaber observes the characters’ stories with patience and necessary empathy.
There are many tense sequences where Michael has to prepare and construct a bomb from scratch. Everything is put together with meticulous planning. The terrifying possibility that things will fail in a second is present throughout the movie. The characters are in a race against time. Everyone has a plan; if one person fails to complete their role, the plan fails.
Visually, How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn’t appealing. But the overall message that surrounds climate activism has a broader appeal. Goldhaber sends a powerful critical message that understands that planning something like this requires effort. There is room for error, and people will get hurt. Each character’s flashbacks and interwoven stories provide a powerful element of storytelling.
