Time: 104 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Dangerous behaviour, drug use and offensive language
Cast:
Ariela Barer as Xochitl
Kristine Froseth as Rowan
Lukas Gage as Logan
Forrest Goodluck as Michael
Sasha Lane as Theo
Jayme Lawson as Alisha
Marcus Scribner as Shawn
Jake Weary as Dwayne
Irene Bedard as Joanna
Director: Daniel Goldhaber

How to Blow Up a Pipeline was a movie I had been hearing about, a thriller about a group of people planning to blow up a pipeline (unsurprisingly). I heard some pretty good things about it, and having seen it, the reception was well deserved.

The movie is very grounded in reality; it has a level of tension akin to a heist film and is riveting throughout. With it being about environmental activists blowing up a pipeline, there is a political and social commentary aspect to it, with it tackling the climate crisis, activism, and was very much a call to action. There is a real nonstop sense of urgency felt throughout. The most interesting part was watching this group of very different characters and personalities being united by this common goal of disruption. The structure is a little jarring; every so often, the movie would flash back to a character’s backstory to explain what caused them to take part in this plan, but as a result, it can take away from the tension that it had been building beforehand. However, these flashbacks are still necessary. The movie wouldn’t have worked nearly as well without them and putting them all at the start probably wouldn’t have worked much better either.

Each character felt developed with their own distinct personalities and identities and helped further by the stellar ensemble of great performances from actors including Ariela Barer, Kristine Froseth, Lukas Cage, Forrest Godluck and Sasha Lane.

This movie is greatly directed by Daniel Goldhaber, who previously made the very effective horror film Cam. It has quite an authentic look, with a low budget documentary feel at times, and benefitting from some sharp editing. Between all the technical aspects, it sustains the tension from beginning to end, helped by Gavin Brivik’s very effective and energetic score.

How to Blow Up a Pipeline is a solid, tense, impactful, and well directed and performed thriller. Probably one of the more underrated movies from 2023.