For those of you who have been following me for a while you’ll already know that I am a big fan of mystery screenings, they are a great opportunity to watch films that might otherwise slip under the radar and whilst not every mystery screening delivers the goods, I have been able to discover some great gems including The Florida Project, Hatching and Wild Rose. But will Daniel Goldhaber’s How To Blow Up A Pipeline be a hit or a miss?
Goldhaber’s loose adaptation of Andreas Malm’s non-fiction manifesto of the same name, How To Blow Up A Pipeline tells the story of a group of people who came together to blow up the pipeline of a Texas oil refinery as a form of protest. Despite coming from different backgrounds these eight people find themselves united in their fear for the future of the planet, anger at the lack of positive tangible action or change and desperate for their voices to be heard. And whilst they know they will be branded as eco-terrorists, they are argue that history has taught us that real change comes from violent acts, not peaceful protest, likening their cause to the Civil Rights and Suffragette movements.
Rather than some lengthy exposition leading up to the main event, we are thrust into the crux of the story right away as our eight protagonists ditch their phones and head to a pre-agreed location in the barren expanse of the Texan landscape, from here they have two days to prepare what they need to enact their plan.
The tension of watching this group of young activists build a bomb in a decrepit old barn is cut with short snappy flashbacks that offer insight into each of the characters’ backstory, each with their own reasons and justifications for taking this drastic action. Ringleader Xochitl decides that violence is necessary after the death of her mother from a freak heatwave and her childhood friend Theo (Sasha Lane) is angry after she finds out that the cause of her rare form of cancer is the toxic pollution from the oil refinery in her hometown. Theo’s girlfriend Alisha (Jayme Lawson) is almost just along for the ride and, as such, acts as the voice of the potential victims in this victimless crime – the everyday people who will impacted by the surge in fuel prices. Something that hits home hard considering the cost of living crisis that we are all facing after the likes of Covid, the Russia-Ukranian war and a global recession have driven up prices on anything and everything.
Having a vision is one thing but Xochitl’s vision can’t be achieved without a plan and a weapon. The plan comes from the ‘dad’ of the group, Dwayne (Jake Weary), a local man, forced out of his home by ’eminent domain’ – a law that gives the government the right to seize private property for private use. In Dwayne’s case, to bulldoze his house in order to make way for the pipeline in question. The weapon of choice comes from Native American Michael (Forrest Goodluck), a self-taught bombmaker, impassioned by the persecution and marginalisation of his people and his land over hundreds of years.
The compelling performances of each of the actors, coupled with a tense score and tight, snappy editing sees Goldhaber deliver a story that is thought-provoking without being patronising. Whilst there may be some that agree with the actions of the protagonists – eco-sabotage is an ever-growing movement after all – there will be others, myself included, that feel acts of vandalism and violence are not the way to go. But at the end of the day, regardless of which side of the pipeline you sit on, How to Blow Up A Pipeline will at least make you think, and the way that Goldhaber handles the subject matter allows his audience to digest these ideas in whichever way they see fit. And with cinema being full of forced inauthentic inclusivity at the moment, this approach is refreshing.
