I went into the press screening of 11th Hour yesterday with subterraneanly low expectations—I mean, seriously?, a film about global warming and environmental destruction produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio? (What, Ben Affleck wasn’t available?)

God bless ‘em, but I tend to view celebrities’ attempts to be socially conscious—see Bono—as embarrassing studies in vanity and inefficacy. Worse, they tend to lull people into feelings that they’re doing enough, simply by watching a movie or buying a book, and are never forced to change their lifestyles—why would you, if the celebrity trumpeting the cause still lives more extravagantly and more wastefully than you ever will?

So it was with a monumental amount of shock that I discovered that 11th Hour is, I hate to say it, pretty goddamn great. Yes, DiCaprio’s narration and screen time is embarrassing and nearly sends the film into promotional schlock territory, but the reality is that his attachment to the film will give it a much higher profile than a similar film would otherwise get. Wisely, though, DiCaprio lets expert talking heads (scientists like Stephen Hawking and David Suzuki, authors like Portland’s own Thom Hartmann, etc.) tell the story, so a good 80 percent of the film is compelling, and not cringe-inducing.

It’s a far from perfect film, though. More on that after the jump.

The central idea of 11th Hour is pretty basic: Humankind, post-Industrial Revolution, is ripping the planet to shreds, ensuring not just our quick-burn extinction, but also the unnatural extinction of thousands upon thousands of species. It's all over the map, covering global warming, Hurricane Katrina, politics, population growth, peak oil, etc., and at first comes off as unfocused. But then, the filmmakers subtly weave those bits together to show how each piece is related, and how each piece can be combated.

The film's pundits effectively describe the ways in which human production and consumption are incompatible with the natural world--in nature, there is no such thing as "waste"; every byproduct of every process is used by something else. Human consumption, however, produces tons of waste that can't decompose, and is polluting the planet.

That basic concept sets up the last third or so of the film, which deals with possible solutions to pulling the planet back from the brink of destruction--redesigning communities, and redesigning human life, in a way that emulates, rather than contradicts, nature. For instance, in many places, like Portland, buildings have replaced trees, which collect and store water runoff, convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, and filter the air. So why not design all buildings to handle those functions? Waste could be treated on site, swales could be used to handle runoff, green roofs replace lost canopy space, use solar energy for the building's electricity, etc.

And while it's thrilling to see and hear eco-designers discuss their latest projects, and their ideas for a green future, this focus unfortunately derails the point of the film--getting average, everyday people to change their behaviors. Whether it was intended this way or not, the film sends this message: "Don't you worry about a thing. The smart people will figure out all the solutions, so that nothing in your life ever has to change."

That message contradicts the film's tagline, "Consume less, live more." Sure, that's the basic idea of the film, I suppose, but there's no pressure on the viewer to actually heed the advice. For instance, a sizable chunk of the film focuses on ExxonMobil's vast political prowess, implying that the reason politicians are ignoring the environmental crisis is because they are bankrolled by oil companies. And yet this simple fact was never mentioned: ExxonMobil has so much money because you refuse to get our of your car. They're not magically wealthy--you fund their political action every time you fill up your gas tank.

And it's doubly shocking that, for all 11th Hour's focus on clean technology to solve our problems, the film never once mentions the simplest, cleanest transportation technology ever invented: the bicycle.

So, go see the film, hop on over to their "Take Action" site, sign a pledge, whatever, but if you want to make a difference, it's as simple as this. Get off your ass and out of your car. Commit to only driving for absolutely necessary trips, and get on a bike. As long as you keep making excuses for why it's not possible, you'll have to join ExxonMobil in taking credit for the extinction of the human race and untold other species.

Lastly, Leonardo DiCaprio is a douche.