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(out of 5)
Sobering look at the realities of global warming that avoids flashy film techniques and instead puts across a linear, factual narrative that appeals directly to your intelligence. In an age when the American president can’t string together a proper sentence and the media is making celebrities out of people whose work in the highbrow medium of reality TV is not worth celebrating, appealing to intelligence might seem a bit of a far-fetched idea, but this one will make its way through to even the most resistant viewer’s intellect. ‘s skills as charismatic speaker and science brainiac are put to excellent use as Davis Guggenheim films Gore’s worldwide lecture about the environment and the serious turn it has taken in the years since carbon dioxide emissions have reached their height and human ignorance and greed have exacerbated the problem to no end. Avoiding overt political appeal, Gore lays the facts out for the audience and points out that the issue is of moral necessity, not a partisan issue, and that steps need to be taken immediately if there is to be a habitable planet left for future generations of human beings to exist on. What’s most satisfying about this film, which also occasionally veers off into personal information about Gore that informs the audience about the path his life has taken up until this point, is that Gore is not just a doomsayer: he offers genuinely possible solutions to the crisis that anyone can use in their everyday lives without upsetting their schedule or upending their economic stability.
Lawrence Bender Productions, Participant Media
USA, 2006
Directed by Davis Guggenheim
Cinematography by Davis Guggenheim, Robert Richman
Produced by Lawrence Bender, Scott Z. Burns, Laurie Lennard
Music by Michael Brook
Costume Design by Marina Ray
Film Editing by Jay Cassidy, Dan Swietlik
Cast Tags:
Academy Awards
Best Documentary (Feature) (Davis Guggenheim)
Best Music (Original Song) (“I Need To Wake Up”, music and lyric by Melissa Etheridge)
New York Film Critics Award Nomination
Best Non-Fiction Film
Los Angeles Film Critics Award
Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film (Davis Guggenheim)
National Society of Film Critics Award
Best Non-Fiction Film
National Board Of Review Awards
Best Documentary
Top Five Documentaries
Toronto Film Critics Award Nomination
Best Documentary
Chicago Film Critics Award
Best Documentary
