It’s a familiar trope: the celebrity with a conscience who takes it upon his or her self to bear witness to the tragedies of the world and report back to us via an earnest, overtly sentimental documentary and call to action. And while some manage to transcend this stigma, more often than not the final product is factually lopsided, marred by vanity, or simply not vital. Basically, such films have made this writer a skeptic of celebrity-fronted activism-oriented films. Which, for the most part, is exactly what Leonardo DiCaprio’s new doc “Before The Flood” is: a globe hopping effort to sound the climate change alarm. The only problem is, unless you’ve been hiding out in a Cold War-era bunker, you already know about climate change and you’ve gone ahead and picked a side.
This out of touch sensation is certainly the largest issue that plagues “Before The Flood.” Much of the film takes place before the Paris Agreement, which in light of its ratification and its hot button status on the campaign trail, already feels like old news. But really it simply feels like a film working to make us believe that climate change is happening. DiCaprio hops onto helicopters to fly over oil sands, ice caps, and Indonesian jungles, he walks deserted islands, measures Greenland’s ice melt, and hangs out with endangered species, all while in a state of continual shock at the already extreme impact of global warming. Which is not to say he’s a phoney or that his film is gimmicky, rather that such a world renowned celebrity is not always the best cipher to establish relatability, let alone credibility.
The structure of “Before The Flood” is rather straightforward. The film primarily comes from DiCaprio’s perspective, and as such opens with him recounting a painting that once hung over his crib that conveniently serves as a metaphor for human-caused climate change. From there the film sets out with DiCaprio, newly anointed as the United Nations Messenger of Peace for climate change, as he attempts to see the impact it has had firsthand. And, on the off chance that someone had managed to miss every documentary or TV special about global warming or carbon emissions, the first third of “Before The Flood” could be as enlightening as it is competently crafted. Despite the desire to want to be annoyed with DiCaprio for his heart-on-sleeve approach, he is a humble, thoughtful, and educated guide who is genuinely more interested in hearing what the experts he has collected have to say than simply relating facts himself.
Essentially, the film, as directed by Oscar winner Fisher Stevens (“The Cove”), is a well crafted, well intentioned attempt to highlight a dire problem that all of its viewers will already understand. It will, more or less, wind up preaching to the choir and change no minds at all. In part, that’s because where “Before The Flood” stumbles is exactly where it could have transcended into something relevant. Early on DiCaprio notes that the film will offer up ideas for how individuals can help on a day-to-day basis, but save for a few minor notes about substituting chicken for beef and avoiding products that use palm oil, “Before The Flood” drops the ball.
And frankly there isn’t even much new information to help separate the film from the pantheon of the genre. Really, it’s DiCaprio and the access afforded by his fame that seem to be the only driving forces. But then again, how much fault should a film bear for attempting to continue the conversation, as circular as it may now be, in order to hopefully shake apathetic Americans from their languid stupor?
Climate change is an urgent issue (if you don’t think so, you probably aren’t reading this review, let alone watching this bleeding-heart of a movie) and something needs to be done about it. “Before The Flood” doesn’t offer up many solutions — though Elon Musk is eternally and brilliantly optimistic as usual — but does succeed in putting the burden on us: dutiful consumers, Americans, America. If real change is going to happen, it’s got to start here. [C+]
