'Before the Flood' lays out the case for climate reform with steadfast rigor

Leonardo DiCaprio stars in the documentary, traveling to locations including the Canadian tar sands of Alberta and pollution-choked Beijing.

'Before the Flood' stars Leonardo DiCaprio.

Mark Blinch/Reuters

October 21, 2016

You may know Leonardo DiCaprio from the movies, but he also wants you to know him as a United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Fisher Stevens’s documentary “Before the Flood” features DiCaprio, a longtime environmental advocate, in the Canadian tar sands of Alberta and in pollution-choked Beijing. He is granted an audience with Pope Francis and has a bromantic confab with President Obama. He speaks at the climate change conference in Paris. It should all resemble a vanity project except for one thing: The film lays out the case for reform with steadfast rigor. Grade: B (Unrated.)