![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1-1.png?width=300&height=169&fit=bounds\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\n\t\t\tTom McCarthy's 'A Statement' to Make World Premiere at New York Film Festival<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
He has not, however, accounted for the impact of each personality. MIT nuclear engineer David Rose (John Turturro), for example, arrives with reams of evidence that society is unable to shift fast enough to make changes worthwhile. Energy Department representative David Slade (Paul Giamatti) is ready to pour cold water on any ideas he knows Congress will reject. Ecologist George Woodwell (Dylan Baker) and environmentalist Rafe Pomerance (Evan Peters) cannot stomach the thought of compromise, while meteorologist John Perry (Jason Clarke) sees himself as a practical gadfly, the one sane voice amid so much overreaction. Meanwhile, public health scholar Annemarie Crocetti (Amy Ryan) observes in dismayed silence, simultaneously overlooked and appalled by the men peacocking around her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is almost inconceivable that a funny, suspenseful and entirely engaging film could be made out of the transcripts of bureaucrats arguing over words like \u201cprudence,\u201d \u201cjurisdiction\u201d and \u201cmandates.\u201d But wisely, McCarthy leans so far in that he allows us to become participants as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We can smell the smoke in the amber ashtrays, see the dust hovering around the slide projector, taste the lukewarm letdown of a chafing-dish meal. Anyone who\u2019s been in a never-ending meeting or had to hide their annoyance at a misguided colleague will feel this experience in their bones. But it\u2019s to McCarthy\u2019s credit that anyone who hasn\u2019t will, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In many ways, he approaches the project like a play, keeping the setting tight and bringing in the highest-level performers to distinguish each role. It\u2019s no coincidence that the most experienced actors handle this difficult task with the greatest ease. Turturro, Clarke and Giamatti are particularly compelling as three versions of men whose flaws blind them in different ways. In contrast, Peters and Tatiana Maslany (as a legal scholar) don\u2019t settle in as comfortably; they play their parts rather than embodying them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Then again, none of the women are fully integrated into the film, an unfortunate irony given the blatant sexism their characters experienced in real life. McCarthy\u2019s intention to acknowledge this egregious treatment is clear each time one of them hesitantly raises her hand or is silenced by an interruption. But when he takes them out of the meeting, he fumbles, turning them into representations and plot devices. This is particularly true for Bernadette (Nina Arianda), the stenographer tasked with both enlightening and kissing awkward young scientist Robert (Noah Robbins).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mostly, however, he gets the details just right. This is never easy; too many contemporary dramas set during the \u201970s and \u201980s make a joke out of how old-fashioned everything feels. In contrast, production designer John P. Goldsmith and costume designer Melissa Toth do a fantastic job recreating a very specific moment with legitimate sincerity. Sure, the ever-present cigarettes and emissions-spewing muscle cars make a point. But it\u2019s the layered approach that\u2019s most impressive: the heavy hotel curtains, rumpled short-sleeve button-downs, limp lunch salads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Best of all, though, are the timeless truths that emerge from this era-specific artifact, through the interpersonal dynamics and self-serving perspectives that each member brings to the table. Nearly 50 years on, it\u2019s clear that climate change was inevitable. So the question McCarthy winds up handing us is even bigger: Is there any hope for human nature?<\/p>\n\n\n
![\"Rachel](\"https:\/\/www.thewrap.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NazaNYFF.jpg?width=300&height=169&fit=bounds\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t![\"WrapPRO](\"\/wp-content\/plugins\/newsletter-builder\/images\/wrap-pro-logo.png\"){kind=logo}
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n