These days you can throw a rock and hit any number of anti-Bush, anti-corporation, or environmentally conscious documentaries. Some are better than others, but most are completely horrid. Out of Balance: ExxonMobil’s Impact on Climate Change falls somewhere in the middle. The film attempts to tackle an extremely huge issue by focusing on one company’s history of irresponsible and often abhorrent business practices. The central point of Tom Jackson’s film is that Exxon is so mega-large that they alone have the industrial might to negatively affect the entire Earth. What’s even worse is that the corporation actively seeks to block environmental legislation and fund pseudo-scientists to act as the voice of skepticism on the issue. The film makes some large claims and assertions about just how evil Exxon truly is and, for the most part, they ring true.
Jackson trots out the familiar torrent of scientists, authors, and politicos to help explain the science and make his point. None of them carry massive weight on their own, but collectively they create a very cohesive image of what the planet is going through, how it’s happening, and who’s making it happen. The film spends a large amount of its time on the general topic of climate change. From it’s science and history, to possible future effects of continued global warming, every facet imaginable is covered. This forms the bedrock of the film and allows Jackson to explore the real villain.
Special attention is paid to the history of ExxonMobil aka Standard Oil, It’s legacy of monopolistic business practices (John D. Rockefeller), and environmental disasters (Exxon Valdez). This back story is disturbing enough but the film really hits its stride with the investigation of the company’s funding of hack science meant to create a debate around the idea that A) climate change is occurring, and B) that humans are responsible for it. It’s the “jury is still out” line of thinking on the subject. This perception is absolutely key to the strategy of oil corporations and their continued record profits. As global temperatures rise, CO2 levels keep in step, and so do oil profits.
The only real flaw of the film is the budget. Production values are extremely low. Stock footage is used throughout like any documentary, but the quality varies wildly. Often extremely dark and grainy, transitions can be jarring. Furthermore, the scientists and other talking heads are done disservice by the use of PowerPoint title graphics. I can’t believe no one told the filmmaker to just use a title dissolve instead of the extremely ugly fly in style. It’s amateurish at best. Still, these are middling problems, and they don’t detract from the core message.
The sad underlying truth of any business enterprise is that ethics in the corporate world only extends as far as the law. A company’s role is to make a profit, period. Out of Balance asserts that no entity has ever embraced this philosophy as much as ExxonMobil has. I for one, agree with that assessment.