‘A Statement’ Review: McCarthy’s Climate Drama Gets Rudd, Giamatti And A Superb Ensemble Right

Tom McCarthy’s A Statement is a conference-room drama about climate science, and it should be dull. Instead, it is a moving, humanist ensemble piece that reminds us what strangers can do when they sit down together. The film follows a 1980 Florida conference where politicians, academics, scientists, and environmentalists gather to write a shared statement on carbon dioxide emissions. The screenplay draws heavily on actual transcripts of the meeting, adapted from Nathaniel Rich’s book Losing Earth: A Recent History by McCarthy, Thomas Bidegan, and Noé Debré. The result is a film that feels urgent, sly, and oddly hopeful.

The Conference Room That Holds the Story

The entire film takes place in a large table in the St. Pete Beach Ce Sar Hotel conference room. There is a wedding going on downstairs, and that will figure delightfully as the weekend progresses. People enter the room, introduce themselves, and start talking about serious issues. There are no backstories on any of them, which means the film trusts the characters to carry the weight of the room.

The master of ceremonies is Tom Jorling, played by Paul Rudd. He is ever-confident and steady, assisted by Robert Cunningham, played by Noah Robbins, an atmospheric science expert who helps keep the conversation on track. Among the other figures gathered are Rafe Pomerance, an engaged activist with Friends Of The Earth, played by Evan Peters; Dr. David Slade, a Department Of Energy Carbon expert played by Paul Giamatti, who may be out of a job after the election; Dr. David Rose, a didactic M.I.T. Nuclear Engineer played by John Turturro, with a lot of definite opinions; Anne Marie Crocetti, a Public Health scholar played by Amy Ryan, who doesn’t say much until she does; and Edith Brown Weiss, a legal scholar from the Commission on Air Quality played by Tatiana Maslany, who may not be aboard. There are many others we meet and hear from, and the film gives each of them a moment to speak.

A Conference That Changed the World

The timing of the conference is crucial. It takes place in late October of 1980, just days before Ronald Reagan defeated Jimmy Carter to become President. The dawning impact of climate change was just coming into view, and a global climate conference had preceded this one a year earlier. But it was a time before the issue became a polarizing political question.

Today, under a President and current administration that has twice canceled the United States out of the Paris Climate Agreement and welcomed the return of fossil fuels, coal, no regulations, and free rein for corporate America, the film’s simple truths take on new weight. The actual end result of this conference may not have been encouraging at the time, but by focusing on the people and the room, McCarthy makes us feel that all is not lost. Even now, when it all seems so dire.

McCarthy’s Direction Keeps It Moving

A Statement does not follow a familiar three-act structure. It is a film of conversations, and McCarthy finds a way to make those conversations feel cinematic. Reminiscent in some ways of Sidney Lumet’s landmark first feature, 12 Angry Men, McCarthy shoots this tight room without ever being rote. He keeps the focus on the people, not the whiteboard.

Stuart Dryburgh’s cinematography helps. McCarthy has found a clever way to present the actual transcript as a human experience, and when you have actors on the level of Rudd, Giamatti, Turturro, Ryan, and the rest delivering the text, you are in good hands. The film also takes the audience out of the conference room at the end of day one, inventing interactions between the group into the night. This lets us get to know some of these people who likely will not see each other again. A lot of it is quite amusing. Who knew the M.I.T. guy Turturro plays could also be a hell of a wedding party crasher?

Why Rudd and Giamatti Matter Here

Paul Rudd brings a quiet confidence to Jorling, the man running the room. He is the one holding the space, and he holds it well. Paul Giamatti plays Dr. David Slade, the Department Of Energy Carbon expert who may be out of a job after the election. His performance is sharp and grounded, giving Slade a sense of urgency that cuts through the bureaucratic haze. Together, they anchor a cast that feels fully assembled.

The Wedding Party Crasher and Other Standouts

The film also features a terrific scene-stealer in Noah Robbins as Robert Cunningham, the atmospheric science expert. He is atmospheric in a way that the title almost promises. John Turturro plays Dr. David Rose, the M.I.T. Nuclear Engineer, and his character’s definite opinions make for some of the funniest moments in the film. Jason Clarke plays John Perry, a personable but skeptical staff member, and his skepticism gives the film a human scale. Amy Ryan’s Anne Marie Crocetti doesn’t say much until she does, and when she speaks, the film gets quieter.

A Feel-Good Movie About Climate Science

A Statement is actually, oddly, a feel-good movie in its own peculiar way. It is not a cheerful film, but it is a hopeful one. The modest ambitions of the project come at the right time to remind us that no matter how divided we can be, we do share a common humanity — or once did. The film suggests that even when the end result of a conference was not encouraging at the time, the attempt to come together was worth remembering.

What the Film Asks of Its Audience

The film asks us to sit with the facts. It asks us to remember a time when climate change was a problem to solve, not a weapon to wield. It asks us to look at the people in the room and see ourselves. It is a humanist look at climate change, and it succeeds because McCarthy knows how to make people feel real.

The Verdict on A Statement

A Statement is a splendid humanist look at climate change, anchored by superb performances from Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, and the rest of a standout cast. It is a film that trusts its material and its actors, and it rewards that trust. It is not a dense polemic, though it starts that way. It is an entertaining, sly, humorous, enlightening, and even moving story of an effort by a group of mere human beings trying to come together for the good of the planet.

It is a quirky and unexpected period piece about a time when we weren’t so divided that it could be possible to have a civil discourse, even on a hot button topic. It is a film that reminds us what we once were capable of. It is a film that makes us hope we can be again.

Source material: “‘A Statement’ Review: Paul Rudd, Paul Giamatti And Superb Ensemble In Tom McCarthy’s Splendid Humanist Look At Climate Change – New York Film Festival,” Deadline.

A Statement · climate change · NYFF · Paul Giamatti · Paul Rudd · Tom McCarthy