How to Blow up a Pipeline is a perfectly executed heist-style indie eco-thriller with a stacked ensemble cast and beautiful cinematography. The only place audiences could find discomfort is in its unapologetic support for eco-terrorism in a bid to tell the other side of a controversial story.
Inspired by the ideas in a manifesto of the same name by Andreas Malm, eight characters from across America meet in Texas to blow up a pipeline as a form of climate activism. The project is led by Xochitl (Ariela Barer), an environmental law student driven by personal climate-related grievances. Her disillusionment with her degree’s ability to enact change emboldens her to plan this sabotage. She recruits her childhood best friend Theo (Sasha Lane) who is terminally ill due to pollution in their hometown. Subsequently, Theo’s girlfriend Alisha (Jayme Lawson) becomes involved. With the help of similarly disillusioned university student Shawn (Marcus Scribner), Xochitl enlists Michael (Forrest Goodluck), a native American enraged by treatment of indigenous land; Dwayne (Jake Weary), a Christian family man whose land the pipe is being built; and Rowan (Kristine Froseth) and Logan (Lukas Gage), a young couple who lead a nonconformist lifestyle.
In heist fashion the heart of the film is the heist itself. All aspects of the movie serve to explain how the heist (or project in this instance) will work, what it is, and most importantly, why characters are driven to be a part of it. The cinematography is made up of clean and beautiful shots. This understated aesthetic serves the complexity of the story well, encouraging the viewer to find some sense in the characters’ radical actions. In this vein, the cinematography is also a mirror of the ethos of project leader Xochitl. In her view, every line of action has been tried and this is, unfortunately but simply, the next step that must be taken in line with the actions of many activists from other social movements before her (a point the film highlights).
The score by Gavin Brivik is noteworthy, adding trepidation and anxiety to every scene and earning the movie the generic categorization of thriller. This anxiety does not only focalize the immediate danger, the precarious home-made bombs, but also the climate anxiety at the heart of the film with its futuristic synth sounds evoking a doomsday prophecy the characters are acting to prevent. The performances from the cast heighten this doomsday feeling as each actor creates memorable characters with distinct and palpable motivations to be a part of the project. Despite being such a story-driven film, each actor makes the most of small moments to create memorable fully formed characters.
It’s difficult to have qualms with such a well-made movie, indeed the only people who do are those worried about the films moral message. How to Blow Up a Pipeline is unapologetically transgressive, and it doesn’t try to hide it. Its most obvious bias towards radical environmentalism can be seen in its use of heist film tropes. Heist movies exclusively follow those committing crimes leading to an understanding or respect for traditional anti-heroes, in this case, environmental extremists. Because of this outright sympathy How to Blow Up a Pipeline cannot be labelled coercive or manipulative; it doesn’t try to persuade audiences that what its characters do isn’t extreme or violent. What it does is give voice to a side often villainized or hushed by powerful institutions such as oil companies and expose new perspective not often explored by the media.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a near perfectly executed heist film from a cinematic point of view, but more interestingly, it uses the genres conventions to introduce unconventional ideas. Whether you agree with the action in the film, How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a masterfully made movie that deserves attention on many levels. The film is clear, both thematically and otherwise, that what its characters do is justified. Instead of manipulating the viewer it instead forces an opinion on the time-sensitive subject of the climate: what do you think?
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