This film takes a broad and full bodied approach to depicting Bill Nye. From his mutual interest in science and fame, to the swath of successes and critiques that lay out there against him. We get to see a small glimpse into the upbringing of Bill and what his parents and family are like. The film then catalogs, in real time, a man facing modern society's disenfranchisement with science.
The clever part of this film is that Bill isn't so warm and personal always, not even to those who know him closest apparently, so the bulk of the portrait we get of Bill is driven by these moments with other people or settings. It's then that his public persona drops for just a moment and something real happens: his friend plays him an important song from his past, a glacier cracks while he's explaining the science of climate change, the cube-sat Light Sail successfully test deploys, a young girl tells him she believes in religion over science, and a young man (son of Bill's climate change opponent) walks out on a lecture he's giving a class. In each of these instances we see or hear Bill take a beat, and you can just feel his inner thoughts. The reality of those moments weighs heavy.
We're shown a man saddled with the responsibility of pushing the world to better itself, a responsibility he signed up for when he made that beloved 90's TV show. It is a responsibility he may not still want like he used to, but nonetheless Bill finds himself in the position to "change the world".
The clever part of this film is that Bill isn't so warm and personal always, not even to those who know him closest apparently, so the bulk of the portrait we get of Bill is driven by these moments with other people or settings. It's then that his public persona drops for just a moment and something real happens: his friend plays him an important song from his past, a glacier cracks while he's explaining the science of climate change, the cube-sat Light Sail successfully test deploys, a young girl tells him she believes in religion over science, and a young man (son of Bill's climate change opponent) walks out on a lecture he's giving a class. In each of these instances we see or hear Bill take a beat, and you can just feel his inner thoughts. The reality of those moments weighs heavy.
We're shown a man saddled with the responsibility of pushing the world to better itself, a responsibility he signed up for when he made that beloved 90's TV show. It is a responsibility he may not still want like he used to, but nonetheless Bill finds himself in the position to "change the world".