Nuclear Now

Oliver Stone's thesis is plain: the way to stop climate change in time runs through nuclear energy, and the other renewables will not be enough on their own. The documentary goes through the history of nuclear plants, the real toll of the accidents and how countries like France and Sweden brought their emissions down. The source is A Bright Future by Joshua S. Goldstein and Staffan A. Qvist. Goldstein co-wrote the screenplay with Stone. Its second argument is more contested: that the anti-nuclear movement puts nuclear power in the same basket as nuclear weapons and manufactures an unfounded fear, part of which may have been funded by the fossil fuel industry. The film also treats recycling and electric cars as superficial gestures. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival. It runs 105 minutes and took 48,064 dollars. The reception split. Variety compared its potential impact to An Inconvenient Truth. The Hollywood Reporter found it lacking in depth, and the Los Angeles Times likened it to a decarbonisation conference that failed to be engaging. Who it is for: viewers who want one side of the energy argument laid out in order. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a balanced presentation. The documentary is a brief for the defence and gives the counter-arguments little room.