Three out of
Five stars
Running time:
92 mins
Important documentary that's unfortunately not as enjoyable or as engaging as An Inconvenient Truth, though it picks up for a genuinely inspiring second half.
What's it all about?
Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour assembles over 70 scientists, designers, historians and thinkers to discuss the state of the Earth today, examine how humanity has impacted on the Earth's ecosystems and to attempt to find solutions before it's too late – the title refers to the last moment when change is possible.
The talking heads are backed up with footage of ecological disasters, linked by a number of to-camera pieces by DiCaprio himself.
Unsurprisingly, an exceedingly grim picture of our planet's future begins to emerge and this isn't helped by the depressing realisation that massive changes in our political system are needed if we're going to tackle corporate greed.
The Good
The approach is extremely dry and information-heavy, which makes the first half of the film a considerable slog in places. That said, the film picks up considerably in the second half, which attempts to come up with some radical and possible solutions, several of which are genuinely inspiring.
The Bad
It might seem odd to say that The 11th Hour lacks the charisma of Al Gore, but that's one of the main problems with the film. An Inconvenient Truth was basically an expanded version of Gore's own meticulously researched lecture, while The 11th Hour tries to cover too much ground and starts to lose focus as a result – indeed, it's occasionally frustrating, because just as you're getting interested in one topic, it switches its attention to something else.
In a similar way, the film suffers from having too many talking heads (some of whom are extremely dull), although it perks up whenever someone recognisable like Stephen Hawking or Mikhail Gorbachev shows up.
Worth seeing?
This is an important film that needs to be seen by as many people as possible - it's just a shame that it couldn't have taken a few more tips from An Inconvenient Truth.