An Inconvenient Truth review

There are two manmade disasters in Al Gore's startling documentary about climate change. The first is the seemingly inevitable ecological meltdown of our planet, largely caused by the greed and shortsightedness of mankind. The second is the fact that the American public let the man escape from highest office when they failed to (convincingly) elect him for President in 2000. Judging from his charming, erudite and down-to-earth persona, history might have taken a very different course over the last seven years if he'd got the job.

This is largely a film of Gore giving his now famous speech on climate change, interspersed with fascinating scenes of the man in action. We learn that the speech had its origins in the years before he took office as Vice President and that he has spent the intervening years polishing it and reworking it with new evidence.

And there is plenty of evidence: the kind that not only propels you to get up and take action (fortunately they even include an easy list of practical things we can all do to reduce emissions at the film's summation) but also entertains in a non-patronising way.

Co-produced by the wife of American comedian Larry David, Gore comes across as a relaxed, genial man who carries his own suitcases as he jets around the world to give his speech to corporations, governments and universities. He even has a nice line in self-deprecation, introducing himself as the man who used to be the next President of the United States.

This is a simple but hugely important film, and never before has the stark crisis facing our planet been so succinctly and entertainingly put. It's not all doom and gloom though, and we might just make it, according to Gore: watching this film is probably the best starting point make it happen.

Paul Hurley