Hot Docs 2025 - Climate in Therapy Review

For a film with a title as bleak sounding as this - the conceit for Nathan Grossman’s Climate in Therapy is surprisingly quite comical. Grossman introduces us to the empty parking lot and vacant hallways of a far-from lavish budget hotel in Secaucus, New Jersey. Our subjects begin to occupy the establishment - beginning with a therapist, and followed by several of the world’s leading experts on the climate crisis. They later convene in one of the hotels many meeting rooms, where our resident therapist kicks off the titular experiment. Through various exercises and guided conversations, we learn from the scientists; how being at the forefront of all this makes them feel. 

Early in the film, the group has already taken a break after making no progress in their discussion. The subject who has most closely remained in her shell asks the therapist if there will be more structure along the way, or if it will remain in this free form. He solely responds by stating “it’ll unfold”. It certainly does, and a point of catharsis is certainly reached. However, as an audience member, it’s hard not to remain as frustrated as the subjects, who hold back their true feelings for a prolonged portion of the exercise. This is a very jaded group of people whose intense work has them feeling desensitized. They work so hard to passionately research these issues that their emotional attachment to them has certainly been reduced. The therapy session the audience sits through with them doesn’t feel very productive until its final moments. 

This is all impossible to avoid in this time of filmmaking. The ambition rooted in the titular experiment is deeply fascinating, no matter how it ends up unfolding. It’s hard not to wish that these subjects came in with the anger that concludes the experiment, for the purposes of entertainment. However, the charm of the conceit doesn’t live or die in entertainment value - its bloodline is understanding. Learning the deeper feelings that comes with this type of work, the kind that doesn’t always live on the surface. It requires a forum like this to truly decipher. Even if the journey there is challenging, it must be understood that those in the room feel that way too. The reflection that’ll come days after watching the film, with that in mind, is the true value Grossman brings to the table. 

Rating: 6/10

Hot Docs 2025 runs until May 4th. Tickets can be purchased at hotdocs.ca.