Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Starring: Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Forrest Goodluck
Running Time: 104 minutes
Synopsis: A group of radicalized environmental activists gather in remote west Texas to bomb a pipeline. As they prepare explosives, detonators, and transport logistics, flashbacks reveal their backstories. Xochitl (Ariela Barer) and Theo (Sasha Lane) grew up in the shadow of a refinery. Theo is diagnosed with cancer and Xochitl becomes frustrated with disinvestment campaigns. Dwayne (Jake Weary) is a Texas farmer who resents pipeline companies encroaching on his land. Michael (Forrest Goodluck) is a Native American and self-taught bomb maker, while Rowan and Logan (Kristine Froseth and Lukas Gage) are a fun-loving couple already in trouble with the law.
What Works Well: This unapologetic adaptation of the Andreas Malm book traces threads of disgruntlement coalescing into an act of terrorism. The bomb plot is a portal to backstories of young people transitioning from climate change anger to despair to a call for violent action. They connect through hushed conversations and find the collective courage to plot destruction, all with the typical delusion that one criminal act will inspire many. The tone is matter-of-fact, the performances organic, the aesthetics stark, and the bomb plot mechanics suitably scrappy. The debates contain the requisite seeds for difficult conversations.
What Does Not Work As Well: The sub-story involving FBI informants is unnecessary and appears wedged-in with a notable lack of polish. Some secondary scenes (including an interlude at an out-of-the-way tavern) are prolonged despite ultimately contributing little.
Key Quote:
Michael: If the American empire is calling us terrorists then we're doing something right.
All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome reader comments about this post.