AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL: TRUTH TO POWER (2017)
Directed by Bonni
Cohen and Jon Shenk
Paramount Pictures,
99 minutes, PG
★★★
This recent documentary on climate change is the update of
former Vice President Al Gore’s 2006 An
Inconvenient Truth. As everyone knows, Gore came out on the short end of
the disputed 2000 presidential election.
Were it not for the fact that Gore’s overthrow led to the inept presidency
of George W. Bush, one might conclude that losing the White House was the best
thing that ever happened to Gore. As the leader on the front lines on the
dangers of climate change Gore is everything he was not as an elected official:
passionate, warm, funny and, above all else, convincing. It’s always tempting
to list Gore with Jimmy Carter—failed pols whose lives outside of the Beltway
are more admirable than when they held elected office.
Gore has also become the bette
noire of climate change deniers. Critics have tried two strategies to
silence Gore. One pegs him a modern-day Cassandra sounding warnings of doom
that are not even real, let alone pending. Another group casts him as
Pollyana—a tree-hugging liberal with stars in his eyes. Both ultimately fail
because Gore has science on his side. If you want a analogy, view Gore as the
Neil deGrasse Tyson of environmentalism—a science geek with the gift of making
complex concepts intelligible to those without STEM degrees.
Gore, of course, has another advantage working for him. He
has walked the corridors of power and has far easier access to places where
change can foment: the United Nations, global conferences, even small-town
council meetings. One of the film’s more poignant moments sees Gore in
Georgetown, Texas to praise its shift to relying on 100% renewable energy
sources. We see Gore rubbing elbows and trading jokes with Mayor Dale Ross, who
is the very essence of a good ‘ole boy—a rotund, plain-spoken, glad-handing conservative
Republican. Take a moment to appreciate the significance of a Republican town
smack dab in the middle of oil-crazy Texas turning its back on fossil fuel. This
scene is also another measure of how comfortable Gore has become in his new
skin. Now that he’s been freed from the purification of party politics, he can
make connections on a personal level and build bridges that cross conventional
boundaries.
Gore easily slides back into the statesman/hard ball
politics when he must. In the film we watch as he negotiates a last-moment deal
that could have scuttled the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement. Developing nations
spearheaded by India were reluctant to cut carbon emissions in the belief that
their efforts to modernize would be stalled; some even saw it as a plot by
Western nations to hold onto their global economic dominance (and they’re
probably right to suspect that). We watch as Gore and his team pulled a rabbit
out the hat by convincing SolarCity to advance zero-emissions technology to
India in exchange for its signature on the treay. A critique: The film did not
reveal that Gore has financial interests in SolarCity.
Kudos to Gore for his efforts. Kudos also for setting up
activist training sessions on his Tennessee farm and his recognition that his
farm’s fate, like that of a medium-sized town in Texas, is inextricably
connected to melting ice in Antarctica of poisonous air over Mumbai.
As a reviewer, though, it’s my duty to say that this film
isn’t a patch on An Inconvenient Truth.
The directors abandoned the illustrated lecture format of the original in an
atteot to humanize and personalize the film. Big mistake---and one reflected in
the huge drop off at the box office from 2006. Too much time is spent watching
Gore working the phones, riding in a limo (ooops!), hugging supporters, shaking
hands with celebrities (including Justin Trudeau), or walking onto stages to
thunderous applause. It’s almost as if the directors don’t trust the science to
carry the message and want us to identify with Gore’s passion rather than the
data, A times an Inconvenient Sequel
strays into th excesses of some of Michael Moore’s film. Put simply, there’s
too much of Gore on the screen, often doing very little to build any sort of
dramatic tension. Overall, the fillmaking is pretty weak and this, sadly,
diminishes what Gore has accomplished. Or should I say the network he has
built? Charisma is a double-edged sword; on one hand it adds gravitas to cause,
but its flip side distracts our gaze. I suspect that’s the last thing Gore
would wish, even if he might enjoy having his ego stoked from time to time.
The film ends on an ominous note: the ascension of the
dangerous Donald Trump. Trump has already done great damage and he simply
doesn’t give a damn about the planet. What cares he, an amoral 71-year-old
billionaire, about the future? Burning carbon inflates his portfolio like a
force-fed hog.Now more than ever we must trust science. Not demagogues—an
unaffordable luxury. I’m lukewarm about this film, but alas our planet is white
hot. We need to listen to Al Gore now. If there’s An Inconvenient Truth III, chances are it will arrive too late.
Rob Weir
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