Exposé documentary ‘Greedy Lying Bastards’ delves into the murky side of the climate change debate. It explores how the fossil fuel industry (and related lobbying special interests) influence government policy and sway public opinion by disseminating doubt and misinformation.
Painting rich oil oligarchs and their associates as money-hungry racketeers is the easy part. There is, however, an illuminating section comparing the tactics of today’s oil companies with those used by the tobacco industry 20 years ago. But their distorting facts, smear campaigns, politically driven backroom deals and delusions of grandeur make them more Bond villain than big business.
The film is a call to arms but ultimately lacks bite, even with director-narrator Craig Scott Rosebraugh’s heart clearly in the right place. It’s Michael Moore but without the humour/gravitas combo, and the divisive nature of the subject matter perhaps needed a more assertive frontman to cut through all the spin doctor demagoguery. I wanted more ‘gotcha’ moments, exposing the flimsy arguments of climate change deniers. It’s definitely worth a watch though, especially for the worlds-apart views of bona fide scientists and their naysaying counterparts.