WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? (3 stars) Director: Chris Paine. Rated: PG. Opens Friday.
This piece of investigative journalism acts as a sort of unofficial companion to An Inconvenient Truth, complete with a cameo from Al Gore. Many see Who Killed the Electric Car? as a murder-mystery. Considering what director Chris Paine uncovers—including footage of perfectly functional electric cars being demolished—his movie is more like a snuff film. It’s a provocative question that the title asks, and Paine isn’t afraid to point fingers at automakers, oil companies and the government. Even the viewer, for not embracing the technology more fully. If Paine’s theory is correct, however, no amount of public clamoring would have helped. I won’t spoil what little suspense this story has—suffice to say there’s a conspiracy afoot. Perhaps a more pertinent question is why was the electric car killed? Here is where Paine’s film is most powerful. As with global warming, a cloud of confusion has been created around the facts. Paine and Gore suggest that this cloud was created on purpose, and the evidence as to why is disturbing.