Original title: ‘This Is Not a Drill’ Review: Climate Activism Doc Feels Stuck in a More Hopeful Past
Had This Is Not a Drill, the new documentary from Oren Jacoby (Sister Rose’s Passion), premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last fall, it would have played as an inspiring story of three grassroots environmentalists taking on Big Oil, offering optimistic examples of individual courage and collective determination in the face of endlessly funded and institutionally supported adversaries. Alas, This Is Not a Drill did not premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last fall. And whether or not you recognize the specific campaigns and causes advocated for by these grassroots environmentalists, you probably have access to newspapers. Therefore, you know that a well-funded right-wing political movement and an unscrupulous and single-minded leader can, in mere months, wipe out decades of incremental regulatory improvements. This Is Not a Drill The Bottom Line Inspiring characters, but rushed and poorly formed. Venue: Telluride Film Festival Director: Oren Jacoby 1 hour 20 minutes Jacoby’s f