"Dark Waters" is an Edge-of-Your-Seat Legal Thriller

by John Zenoni

Kudos to actor/producer Mark Ruffalo for providing us with the alarming and true-to-life film, ‘Dark Waters.’ I don't know where I've been the past 20 years in regards to the long-standing battle between attorney Robert Bilott, portrayed by Mark Ruffalo, and mega-company, DuPont, concerning the use of toxic chemicals that were shown to poison a community in West Virginia, which just happens to be where Bilott is from.

The story is based on a 2016 article from the The New York Times magazine called, “The Lawyer Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare.”

The film opens with Bilott, who ironically works for a law firm in Cincinnati defending chemical companies, being approached by a farmer who brings him what he believes is evidence that DuPont is knowingly poisoning the animals on his farm via the drinking water. The farmer came to him by way of Bilott’s grandmother, who happens to live near the area, and told him her grandson would help. Bilott politely refuses to begin with, but after going to see his grandmother to talk to her about what's happening, he then begins, reluctantly, to investigate. As he digs further, he realizes there's more to the case than he thought.

‘Dark Waters’ is directed by Todd Haynes, who does a good job of keeping the film going at an even pace and providing plenty of suspense.

I will say the film does have moments that have been used plenty of times in similar films, such as: the long, drawn out hours spent by the hard working good guy battling the large corporate firm; the frustrated spouse who ‘can’t take it anymore and comes to a head with the hero about the drive to resolve the case at any costs (i.e. marriage, family life)’; and the victims who get angry at the long, drawn out battle with the evil monster/corporation, etc. But in this case it all works and I didn't necessarily see any of it as negative.

If I had to criticize anything about the film, I would say that some of the acting wasn't as good as I expected. For example, the farmer who's introduced early on, unfortunately, got on my nerves for his ‘overacting.’ I did feel sympathetic to his situation in the film but he wasn't a character I liked on a personal level. The other performer who shocked me with his ‘grandstanding’ or ‘overacting’ was Bill Pullman. He portrays Harry Deitzler, who's on the legal team suing DuPont. His performance was just overkill in my opinion. Some other well known cast members include; Tim Robbins, Mare Winningham, Anne Hathaway, Victor Barber and Kevin Crowley. They all did a fine job in their respective roles.

But, from an acting perspective, the film definitely belongs to Ruffalo. He's excellent in his role and brings the right touch of sensitivity as a husband and father as well as strength and aggressiveness when he comes to fighting the injustice suffered by the common people. I wouldn't be surprised to see him get accolades come awards season.

This was a definite edge-of-your-seat legal thriller. Good, even if not great, film to watch for entertainment.

Originally Posted 12/12/19