Ignore the ultra negative reviews. This was bound to bring out the climate change deniers , flat earthers, anti vax brigade et al. So nutters aside, this an interesting although very dry recount of a hack, that produced a global storm about a world wide scientific conspiracy to falsify the evidence for global warming. The acting is solid but the story is kind of delivered in a very uninteresting way. Its worth a watch but if you think what you read on Facebook is the same as a peer reviewed scientific paper its probably not for you.
The Trick
2021
Action / Thriller
The Trick
2021
Action / Thriller
Plot summary
A specific incident in 2009 pertaining to climate scientist Phil Jones is dramatized. One of the most respected people in the field having been in the cutting edge of research for thirty years in wanting to provide accurate information for others to make informed decisions, he is the Director of the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia. That incident is the computer system containing his work being hacked, the hacker who proceeds to publish anonymously online most specifically emails that indicate that Jones may have falsified data to show global warming more than reality, the word "tricked" which is especially damning. It seems as if it was a coordinated effort in well known climate change denier Stephen Mosher capturing that information to maintain it in case the original postings are ultimately removed. While some irrevocable damage is already done, especially in even the scandal justification for world leaders to do nothing on the issue of climate change at the upcoming COP15 (Conference of the Parties) in Copenhagen, and Jones' reputation and his work being put into question in its entirety, two streams in dealing with the issue are presented. The first is the Scotland Yard investigation into the hack itself, the lead, DSI Julian Gregory, treating it with the seriousness as if someone was murdered. The second is the work of a public relations firm behind the scenes who is coaching Jones in how best to present himself in needing to testify, first and foremost in front of a select committee of Parliament which is assessing if there was indeed any wrongdoing on Jones' part. As such, the PR team has to take into consideration whether or not Jones is indeed guilty of what has been purported in the email leak. Beyond the damage to his reputation, Jones and his wife Ruth Jones have more pressing issues with which to deal on the matter in having received death threats including to anyone in their family, one along the lines of (paraphrasing),"if you don't have the guts to do it yourself, we can do it for you."
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
George MacKay as Sam Bowen
Victoria Hamilton as Ruth Jones
Amber Rose Revah as Lisa Tremble
Jerome Flynn as Neil Wallis
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 821.62 MB
1280*714
English 2.0
NR
Movie Reviews
Reviewed by
Interesting but dry
Reviewed by
The Trick
Was The Trick a polemic or thriller?
On the evidence on screen, it fell between two stools and landed with a thud.
Based on the Climategate affair of 2009. Hackers broke into the computers of the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit and copied emails and documents.
It was then alleged that chief scientist, Prof Philip Jones (Jason Watkins) and his colleagues manipulated data to suggest man made climate change was more prevalent than thought.
Under pressure, receiving death threats and the prospect of his reputation in tatters. Jones has to prepare to appear in front of a House of Commons committee. He is managed by a team of PR experts.
There was nothing here that worked as a thriller. It was frankly dull and the director had to resort to showing pretty pictures of the sea, fields and a lighthouse.
As a polemic, it was too preachy. Most of the audience know that polluting the atmosphere is bad for the planet. Suggesting impending doom just turns people off especially when they are going through a real life pandemic.
Reviewed by
lost the plot
All the elements are there so this really comes down to bad direction. If the idea is to promote action on climate change, the producers and director have done nothing except muddle things with this mishmash convoluted story. I vaguely remember when the real story broke but didn't remember the details which may be why I didn't get this film. For more than 30 mins in I had no idea what the story was about because it was just a jumble of different scenes and characters and it just made no sense and most of it was not about the main character at all, just the peripheries of the story. The main character was relegated to 1 dimensional cartoon figure constantly crying and raising his hands to his head like "The Scream" but they used so much idiotic technobabble it was hard to understand exactly what he did to deserve persecution for most of the first third of the film. Too many scenes, too much melodrama, and too many cliches, and too little relation to the main character. The acting was great; but the story direction was awful. And of course at the end there's the speech where our hero gets vindicated. But, it's interesting on one point because it's a story about a supposed conspiracy to deceive that is blamed on another conspiracy against the conspiracy but in the end, the story is about nothing much at all. Well, that is, if there was some plot of importance, they lost it. (for the record, my comments are on the film, not the topic)