David Attenborough is one of broadcasting’s original renaissance men. He served for more than a decade as a senior executive at the BBC and was an early backer of Monty Python, giving the anarchic comedians free rein where a more fuddy-duddy suit would have shown them the door. He then reinvented himself as the world’s most famous natural history presenter. That vocation continues as he approaches his 100th birthday in May with his enjoyable new Netflix documentary, A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (Friday, April 17th).
But there is one calling for which he is ill-suited – and that is as a siren voice warning against the consequences of climate change, the central message of his earlier Netflix series, Our Planet. The reason had nothing to do with his earnestly held views about man’s devastating indifference to the environment. It was because his wise, soothing voice was simply too relaxing to adequately convey the horrors of global warming. Listening to Attenborough, it is impossible to experience any emotion other than supreme calm.
In an admirable lesson in sticking to what you are good at, Attenborough is at his most chill pill-sounding in this new feature-length documentary, a sequel to the famous episode of Life on Earth in 1979, in which he hunkered down with a family of mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
In that famous clip, he is both awed and on edge as the encounter proceeded – though the gorillas felt no such compunction, as made clear when a baby primate sat on his chest.
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Attenborough was almost lost for words – but not quite. “There is more meaning and mutual understanding in exchanging a glance with a gorilla than any other animal I know,” he said.
Going on 50 years later, he is now catching up with the descendants of the primates he met on Life on Earth. In his study in London, the now 99-year-old retrieves his old notes and talks with fondness about the connection he struck up with a garrulous gorilla named Pablo. Back in Rwanda, however, it’s all gone a bit Game of Thrones, with the present-day troop of gorillas riven by a struggle for supremacy between alpha males.
The top dog – or gorilla – is Ubwuzu, a macho male who believes in beating his chest first, asking questions later. But the patriarchy hasn’t entirely conquered the jungle. Attenborough introduces us to a thoughtful older female named Teta, who has two babies and whose calming presence stops things from going full Planet of the Apes.
Gorilla society comes across as a bit on the rough-and-tumble side. Their idea of conflict resolution is to square off, baring their teeth, and if that doesn’t work, to unleash their fists. But the real pleasure of A Gorilla Story is Attenborough’s narration.
In a time when the world is increasingly unhinged, his calming voice still works a treat. It won’t make anyone go ape – but it is the sort of comfort viewing that will have viewers figuratively swinging from the trees with delight.
