The terrifying documentary An Inconvenient Truth presents an aesthetic dilemma: Essentially a traveling PowerPoint presentation on global warming by former Vice President Al Gore, it isn't really much of a film—it lacks even the minor cinematic embellishments of comparable Spalding Gray monologue films like Swimming To Cambodia or Monster In A Box. As such, it seems better suited to classrooms than movie theaters, though any way its urgent message can be disseminated should be encouraged. Environmental concerns have always been Gore's passion, as outlined in his book Earth In The Balance and the lecture series he's been giving for years. Gore makes a compelling argument for global warming as the preeminent issue of our times, a great and urgent threat to our habitation of the planet, yet one that isn't really under serious discussion in Washington. The sky is falling, yet few have the will—much less the political courage—to do anything about it.
