Crude Impact: A Peak Oil Primer

Crude Impact, director James Wood's debut documentary, shines a sobering, detailed light on all the issues surrounding the world's increasing dependence on petroleum and petroleum-based products.

Warning: this film is not for the pessimistic. The audience at Cleveland's International Film Festival sat in stunned silence as credits rolled, seemingly unable to fully process the multitude of data presented. It's nominated for and winning many awards across the festival circuit, including a Social Justice Award at the 22nd Annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

Though Wood offers myriad facts in easily-digested pieces throughout the movie, the cumulative effect befits continued use of a dining analogy. By the end of the movie we're stuffed and uncomfortable. Processing is difficult. Heartburn, inevitable. If anything, the film suffers from being too broad in scope and simultaneously incredibly detailed.

It's simply too much to digest.

Visually engaging, with cutaways to archival footage, Crude Impact has some surprisingly amusing moments. The interviews with over 30 experts are outstanding. Particularly interesting is Guy Caruso, former Administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA) under President Bush. All are used to full effect, discussing the impact of oil consumption on humanity, the earth, marine life, population and the global economy.

However, more concise editing and paring away at subject matter is needed. At approximately 90 minutes, the film's more salient points begin to blur.

Crude Impact explores all of these areas, and more: how we came to be dependent on oil, OPEC's practices, the oil industry's subsidizing by the American government, our shared future as oil supply dwindles while demand increases, and practical ways we can begin to make a difference.