‘A Statement’ thrills critics after its world premiere at NYFF: Tom McCarthy returns with a climate drama

‘A Statement’, the new film by Oscar-winning director Tom McCarthy, had its world premiere on the evening of 3 October in the ‘Spotlight’ gala section of the 64th New York Film Festival, and the first reviews describe it as one of the festival’s standout moments. The film reconstructs the real conference held from 29 to 31 October 1980 at the Don CeSar hotel in St. Petersburg, Florida, where a group of American scientists, environmentalists and policymakers gathered to debate the scientific evidence on the effect of carbon dioxide emissions on the climate and to draft a ‘statement’ with recommendations for the U.S. Congress.

The film is an adaptation of Nathaniel Rich’s 2019 non-fiction book ‘Losing Earth’; the screenplay is signed by McCarthy with Thomas Bidegain and Noé Debré. The ensemble cast features Paul Rudd as moderator Tom Jorling, Paul Giamatti as the Department of Energy carbon expert Dr. David Slade, Evan Peters as activist Rafe Pomerance, John Turturro as MIT nuclear engineer Dr. David Rose, as well as Tatiana Maslany, Amy Ryan, Dylan Baker, Jason Clarke, Zach Woods and Christopher Denham. The film was shot in the same hotel where the real meeting was held, and the screenplay is built on the conference transcript, with cinematography by Stuart Dryburgh.

The first reviews after the premiere are mostly positive. As The Playlist writes, the film is “erudite and studied”, with a collective of intelligent characters who “tear apart their collective intelligence under the weight of individual beliefs, priorities and insecurities” — a small-scale version of humanity. According to IndieWire and The Hollywood Reporter, the film’s strength lies in its talky, humanist approach and the cast’s performances: Rudd “restrained” as the troubled moderator, Giamatti making scepticism funny “without reducing it to a joke”, and Tatiana Maslany just as sharp in a room dominated by men. Some reviewers compare the film’s structure to Sidney Lumet’s ’12 Angry Men’: the whole story unfolds inside a hotel room, with the clock running towards the end of the three-day conference.

The Guardian places ‘A Statement’ in the context of a growing trend of climate stories in Hollywood, although it notes that some critics ask for an even more nuanced and realistic portrayal of the climate crisis. The film comes to cinemas from Sony Pictures Classics (produced among others by Anonymous Content) and is expected to open in U.S. cinemas at the end of 2026. McCarthy, the Oscar winner for ‘Spotlight’, has said he was drawn to this story by the timeless idea that “regardless of our differences, we must find ways to work together if we have any hope of solving our problems”.