Tom McCarthy's film 'A Statement' centers on a 1980 conference in St. Petersburg, Florida, where 20 experts, including scientists and policymakers, convened to address climate change. The movie, adapted from Nathaniel Rich's book 'Losing Earth: A Recent History,' uses verbatim dialogue from the event's transcripts, emphasizing the group's inability to reach a consensus despite their expertise. The film premiered at the 2026 New York Film Festival and is set for a 2027 release by Sony Pictures Classics.
The movie portrays the conference as a microcosm of human dynamics, with characters like Paul Rudd's moderator Tom Jorling and Paul Giamatti's skeptical Energy Department official David Slade embodying conflicting perspectives. While some reviews praise its nuanced character studies and historical accuracy, others criticize its talky structure and lack of dramatic tension, noting that the group's failure to produce a statement mirrors modern inaction on climate issues.
Critics highlight the film's focus on the futility of bureaucratic debates, with characters debating semantics and compromises rather than actionable solutions. The portrayal of women, including Amy Ryan's Annemarie Crocetti and Tatiana Maslany's Edith Brown Weiss, has drawn mixed reactions, with some noting their underdeveloped roles compared to male counterparts. The film's ending underscores the enduring relevance of the 1980 meeting, questioning whether human nature allows for meaningful collective action on climate change.