Davis Guggenheim, USA, 20063.5 out of 4 stars
At first, I figured that a movie based on a PowerPoint presentation didn’t really need to be seen on the big screen, but having finally succumbed to good buzz from friends and media, I found that I was mistaken after all. Surprisingly, the still photos Al Gore offers of the effects of global warming are quite effective – breathtaking and disturbing – on the big screen. There are, of course, some videos too, and even a few quite funny cartoons, but the director chooses to show all of these through Gore’s giant video screen, which means that we are, barring some autobiographical interludes in Tennessee and so on, firmly placed in the seats of Gore’s college audience. This seems like folly, but it is surprisingly effective.
Speaking of those autobiographical bits, Gore narrates some key turning points in his life, but I wish he had explained what epiphany transformed him from a guy that couldn’t carry a CSPAN session to a guy that can carry a major motion picture! I definitely want him for president now, almost in spite of myself. As for the science, I did learn a lot, and I thought he was most effective when he took shots at the characterization of global warming as “theory.” This movie is a force for good and its actually well mad and honest; it’s nice when these things come together for once.
Source: Paramount 35mm print
10 July, 6:57 PM
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