Another documentary in the growing genre that could be called environmental panic, The 11th Hour is a maddening mix of good intentions and wild hysteria. The film’s eagerness to embrace alarmist speculation undermines the basic truths it tells. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, The 11th Hour alternates between stock footage of environmental disasters and countless talking heads who present a wide range of doomsday scenarios. Most of these rely less on scientific evidence than on comments such as, “What I hear in my dreams.” One person predicts the atmospheric damage we are causing will lead to our planet burning up like Venus; awhile later, someone else predicts we’re unwittingly recreating the freezing atmosphere of Mars. Far more useful is the last third of the documentary, which explores the exciting and ingenious solutions that are being developed for a more environmentally sensitive world. The film’s basic message – that we should treat the whole world as if it was our own backyard – couldn’t be more admirable. Too bad it’s constantly overshadowed by people screaming that the sky is falling in various, contradictory ways.
