I
know superhero movies are all the rage now. But for me, it’s more enjoyable viewing
films about real-life heroes like Rob Bilott, a corporate defense attorney who
took on a powerful chemical company with a record of environmental pollution. That's what Dark Waters is all about.
As
luck would have it, Bilott is played by Mark Ruffalo, an actor known for
portraying The Hulk in recent movies. Unlike that superhero, Bilott doesn’t
rely on physical force to deal with the bad guys. Instead, he uses brains,
persistence and compassion. Ruffalo projects all that in this
informative legal thriller directed by Todd Haynes.
Because
Bilott’s job involves defending corporations, he can’t imagine himself taking
on a case involving pollution by a big company. However, his grandmother asks
him to help a friend who can’t get anyone to listen about what’s happening to
his farm since a landfill next to him became a DuPont dumping ground. Chemicals
from that dump are leaking into a body of water his cattle drink from, and his
animals are dying.
As
Bilott finds out more about this situation, he can’t say no. But little did he
realize his battle would go on for years, and that it would involve much more
than cattle as well as serious problems of his own.
Watch “Dark Waters,”
but be prepared
to get angry while
being scared.
A true story, it
tells the tale
of poisonings without
a jail.
Stopping these deaths
a lawyer tries.
His research reveals
many lies
told by DuPont about their work.
Dangers in their
chemicals lurk.
He takes on this case
and the fight.
It’s not easy to do
what’s right.
He and his wife face
problems too.
If you were him, what
would you do?
Courage and strength
are required here.
Persistence helps to
conquer fear.
Mark Ruffalo always
comes through.
This role offers him
something new.
He feels the part and
does his best.
The Hulk in him gets
needed rest.
Director
Haynes moves the film along rather slowly, but there’s lots of complicated
scientific information to cover – and it can’t be understood if presented in a
hurry. Although Ruffalo carries the major acting burden, he’s helped by Anne
Hathaway as his worried wife plus Tim Robbins and Bill Pullman as two
sympathetic lawyers.
Dark Waters reveals how greed,
corruption and indifference can devastate the environment, cause fatal illnesses, and ruin people’s
lives. It’s a very scary story.
(Released
by Focus Features and rated “PG-13” by MPAA.)
Labels: Dark Waters, film poem, Mark Ruffalo, movie review
