Best friends Xochitl and Theo, having grown up together next to an oil refinery, have each suffered pain and loss; Xochitl's mum dying in a heatwave and Theo being diagnosed with leukaemia. Disillusioned with the lack of action taken towards oil companies, Xochitl proposes a more radical and disruptive move. Bringing together a group of strangers, all with their own reasons for taking part, the group plan to blow up an oil pipeline in West Texas. But it isn't long before one the members in the group is compromised.
In recent years there have been a slew of dramas, mostly consisting of courtroom stories about the environmental impact industrial factories and other such structures have had on the health of those who live near them. As well as documentaries and TV specials focusing in on climate change. There has also been an increase in demonstrations but such groups as Extinction Rebellion and the school strikes, where kids and teenagers around the world left school in protest. It's no secret that Climate Change is no longer a change, it's a crisis we're all living with. These themes are touched upon within the film but with this narrative, there is no need for greater exploration. The plot is not bigger than the greater issues mentioned, but the film cleverly and effectively focuses in on an incident that could spark a bigger movement. Concentrating on the eight characters makes the film feel more compact, the tension is nail-biting and the stakes higher.
Based on the non-fiction book by Andreas Malm, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is more than a one note thrill seeking story with a hard-hitting title. The moral quandary of the characters' actions and taking drastic action to blow up a pipeline is debated and discussed. It is made very clear, although personal motivations are there, that this group of eight people have not come to this decision lightly. This is important to factor into the story, they know what they are doing is violent, but ultimately agree and resign to being called ecoterrorists. They accept that to disrupt the system, an action such as this is a necessary act.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a story, although fictional, couldn't be timelier placed. The diverse cast assembled are fantastic, no one out shines each other, working perfectly as a fragile team. There is something to be said for smaller budgeted film, director Daniel Goldhaber has achieved far more with much less. With a ticking clock narrative, a group of near strangers coming together to achieve a common goal for, what they believe to be, the greater good. This ecoterrorist thriller has something important to say and forcing you to debate their actions, even after the credits roll.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline will be released in cinemas on 21st April
