Joshua Reviews Daniel Goldhaber’s How To Blow Up A Pipeline [Theatrical Review]

What’s one to do when the world catches fire? That’s the main question at the core of the latest release from beloved distributor Neon. Based on the hotly talked about 2021 book from writer Andreas Malm, How To Blow Up A Pipeline turns what is a powerfully intimate non-fiction call for radical activism in the face of a climate crisis into a thought-provoking, political thriller calling for radical activism in the face of a climate crisis.

The latest film from Cam director Daniel Goldhaber, Pipeline adapts Malm’s brilliant triptych arguments for radical action into ostensibly a sort of heist thriller about a diverse group of activists plan and commit a genuinely radical act of political revolt that hopes to upend more than just a simple piece of pipeline. While Malm’s book is far more expansive in scope (ranging from a protest Malm took part in in the mid-’90s to the use of sabotage in South Africa) the core idea is very much intact. Both pieces ostensibly argue that activists in modern society need to destroy the very structures that are lighting this planet on fire because if nothing is done now, we’re all doomed.

Bringing this to life is a fantastic cast of young actors, led by most notably Sasha Lane, who plays the enigmatic Theo. Opposite Lane are stars Ariela Barer, Forrest Goodluck, Jake Weary and more, collecting a group of young activists of seemingly all backgrounds. The most exciting performance is likely Barer’s, whose Xochitl opens the film and stands as the film’s heart, with a family tragedy inspiring her to take real action against a world that took her mother away from her. However, the performances really sing when they’re in conversation with one another, as the film’s greatest moments are those when it leans into the group heist of it all.

Another fascinating sidebar that adds a lot to the tension is a thread involving the coke-snorting couple Logan (Lukas Gage) and Rowan (Kristine Froseth). While the twists and turns this narrative makes give way to an energy that feels strangely broad for a film of this ilk, it does fit well within the larger heist narrative. Pair this knotty yarn opposite some genuinely breathtaking shots of rural Texas landscapes that make up the pipeline route and you have a hell of a thriller.

Speaking of that, this is genuinely one of the year’s more exciting films. Goldhaber’s camera is incredibly intimate here and the use of flashbacks adds even more tension to the overall narrative. He has an absolute blast with the heist elements here, particularly in the final third that plays as one of the great heists in ages. However, it’s the “why” inside of the story that really packs the biggest punch. The title may sound like a provocative instructional manual, but the film’s final beat glances squarely at the core of the film’s drama, why these people have gotten together and taken the climate crisis into their own hands. It’s an astounding bit of tightrope walking on all parts.

How To Blow Up A Pipeline is not just a film with a challenging title. Goldhaber and his uniformly great cast have put together a startling work, a densely layered and beautifully textured protest picture that is both a near-Bressonian character study about political revolutionaries as well as a heist film with a 70’s energy to it. Truly a singular piece of work.