How to Blow Up a Pipeline: radical politics and heist-movie thrills

Andreas Malm (swedish author, professor of ecology) published this nonfiction book in 2021. How to Break Up a PipelineThe Climate Action Movement argues that the sabotage and destruction of polluting industrial property is an essential part of climate activism.

Daniel Goldhaber was appointed director two years later (CamJordan Sjol, his co-writers and Ariela (who star in the movie as well) took that message and ran with it. They have created an original and engaging adaptation of the novel. The movie is not a simple conversion of the source material. How to Break Up a Pipeline builds off the book’s ethos with a fictional scenario, to great success.

A group of young Americans from different areas and backgrounds join forces to blow up an oil pipeline in West Texas. There are college students, domestic and service workers, a local country boy, and a couple best described as “chaotic punks.” They hail from places like North Dakota, Texas, California, and Chicago. They each bring their own skills to the job, and their own reasons for being there — it’s a true coalition of people coming together to make a real difference against the forces wreaking havoc on the environment for their own profit.

The movie immerses viewers in this group with a rapid-fire opening, following small actions (slashing the tires on a gas-guzzling car and leaving an info pamphlet explaining why) and preparation for the movie’s big job, with a sharp focus on the details. The tactical planning immerses the audience in the process, in much the same ways as Todd Haynes’ masterful anti-DuPont legal thriller Dark WatersYou can print YouTube screengrabs. There is no need for a paper trail or phones.You will need to have a notebook, a pen and a zoom lens that can show you the details of each step. Goldhaber doesn’t lose time even with a laser-like focus on details. How to Break Up a Pipeline The movie leaves enough room for the viewers to complete, which is a great balance that prevents the film from becoming too complicated in its final moments.

Image by Neon

The most thrilling part of How to Break Up a Pipeline is that it’s also just a fun crime thriller. Goldhaber Expertly employs the language and format of a heist film to tell a radical political story. This opens up the possibility for more people than those who would be interested in watching a documentary on politics or an information-based movie. It’s a propulsive story with clever, punctuated editing, likable characters, and a nonlinear narrative that unveils crucial information over time in the way only the best heist movies can.

There is another element to great heist thrillers. How to Break Up a Pipeline It is the group that integrates well. They’re a group of charming people who have distinctive roles and personalities, and they’re not a dour bunch. They’re on serious business, but they have fun, like young people do, with japes and jokes (one member of the crew, rolling an explosive barrel, exclaims, “Oh, she big!!!”), lighthearted razzing of each other, and plenty of gallows humor. They’re full of energy, righteous anger, and life. Seeing the group first get together is a treat, and when the movie’s defining action unfolds, it’s thrilling and tense.

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Crucially, How to Break Up a Pipeline shows environmental activism isn’t just for academics. This is clear from the makeup of the group — most come from working-class backgrounds — but it also comes up directly in the characters’ interactions with each other and the world.

Goldhaber shows the process by which each member of the group becomes radicalized through an excellent series flashbacks. They are perfectly placed to interrupt the action and increase our understanding of the characters. Some of the victims were their relatives. Others are concerned for the well-being of those in their care. Others are even sick. Also, the movie depicts doomscrolling in a potential radicalizing activity. A character watches his Twitter timeline while the urgency and despair of the situation dawns upon him.

Dwayne (Jake Weary), the local member of this group is involved in a land dispute about a proposed pipeline that will be built on his property. He dips chaw, wears the American flag camo hat, and also wears the chaw. The pipeline will be devastating to his property, his neighborhood, and his family. He fears that his house will be without water in the future. Although he tried to challenge the company at court, eminent Domain prevailed. (How to Break Up a Pipeline deftly shows how many of the members of the group tried to enact change the “right” way — protesting, filing lawsuits, etc. — but their actions weren’t enough to stop the pipeline on the necessary timeline.) In a flashback, an academic documentarian interviews Dwayne, asking insensitive questions in an effort to “humanize” him and his family’s struggles, as if the precarity of their situation wasn’t enough. These moments and others are just a few of many. How to Break Up a Pipeline exposes the futility of “raising awareness” as meaningful action.

Image by Neon

Image by Neon

Image by Neon

The lead singers excel at their respective roles How to Break Up a PipelineThere are many, but Forrest Goodluck is the best.The Revenant), as quiet, awkward North Dakotan self-taught demolitions expert Michael. Michael does most of the group’s bomb-building, and gets their supplies after getting a job at a local market. It’s a difficult role: His awkwardness puts him at a distance from the others, but his intensity and commitment to taking down the pipeline builds a deep trust with the rest of the group. Goodluck is a perfect example of this balance, adding a righteous, angry rage to the star-making performances that suggest a bright future.

There’s one crucial place where How to Break Up a Pipeline diverges from most crime-thriller narratives, much to its benefit: There is no real police or investigator plotline corresponding to the saboteurs’ planning. A law enforcement officer shows up later on, but as a minor part of another character’s narrative — the movie truly focuses on the young people and their plan, with great results.

The prep phase introduces members of the group, their motivations and the plans they will be implementing. But the real action begins when the participants actually execute the plan. It is a tight controlled movie with few camera movements, quick zooms on a pipeline, on barrels and on a burning candle that create tension. The movie builds and builds in anticipation until it’s ready to explode, and as with many good crime thrillers, the nonlinear narrative allows the outcome to be withheld until the moment of greatest impact.

Image by Neon

There are many striking shots throughout the movie. Goldhaber, Tehillah De Castro, DP, make use of West Texas’ vast landscapes, North Dakota and Southern California. They hint at a lost past that has been destroyed by industrialization. All of these settings — snowy North Dakota, expansive West Texas, sunny Southern California — are depicted with factories billowing smoke in the background, inviting viewers to imagine what these environments would look like if they were being treated with care.

There’s a shot early on in the movie with the group driving down a West Texas highway where oil rigs dot the scenery like cattle or horses in the distance. Xochi (cowriter Ariela barer) is shown watching two members of the team dig a rectangular hole that’s large enough to hold an oil drum. Later, flashbacks show a coffin being lowered in a grave for a funeral. A smoke-filled industrial compound was behind them. It’s a simple, beautiful visual parallel that cuts right to the point: Environmental disaster is all-encompassing and already here, and the movie weaves that in expertly, both visually and in the characters’ stories.

How to Break Up a Pipeline It is rare to find a movie that uses conventional storytelling techniques to effectively communicate a political message. This movie is a true game-changer. It will be a source of inspiration for artists as well as budding activists, and it feels great. It’s exciting, tense entertainment with an explosive, memorable final line of dialogue. It’s been an amazing year for movies, but it will be difficult to top 2023.

How to Break Up a PipelineThe movie will debut in cinemas April 7.