Rent Dark Waters (2019)
3.8 of 5 from 740 ratings
2h 2min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Inspired by a shocking true story, a tenacious attorney (Mark Ruffalo) uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything - his career, his livelihood, and his family - to expose the truth.
- Actors:
- Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, William Jackson Harper, Louisa Krause, Kevin Crowley, Bruce Cromer, Denise Dal Vera, Dick Hagerman, Abi Van Andel, John Newberg, Barry Mulholland, Jeffrey Grover, Jim Azelvandre, Bucky Bailey, Marcia Dangerfield
- Directors:
- Todd Haynes
- Producers:
- Pamela Koffler, Mark Ruffalo, Christine Vachon
- Writers:
- Nathaniel Rich, Mario Correa, Matthew Michael Carnahan
- Aka:
- The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare
- Studio:
- eOne
- Genres:
- Drama, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 2021, A History of Films Inspired by Magazine Articles, CinemaParadiso.co.uk Through Time, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide to Todd Haynes
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- Unknown
- Run Time:
- 127 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 2.0, English DTS 2.0, English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French DTS 5.1, Spanish DTS 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing, French, Spanish
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 2.39:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Uncovering 'Dark Waters'
- The Cost of Being a Hero
- The Real People
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Reviews (15) of Dark Waters
A must see film ! - Dark Waters review by HB
I have never been a fan of Mark Ruffalo but by the end of this film I could not have imagined anyone else in the role. It is a slow burner of a tale which happens to shockingly true. I would advise everyone to watch it just to get educated in the price paid for not having to scrub your pans. I threw out my expensive non stick pans after watching this even though one of the type of chemicals Used to make Teflon is now banned. The film does do a lot of scene setting before it gets going but bear with it and you will become gripped by the whole affair.
9 out of 10 members found this review helpful.
As good as Erin Brockovich - Dark Waters review by CB
I had wondered if this would be a 'poor man's Erin Brockovich' (i.e. similar theme but just not as good). However, I found it compelling viewing and it has stayed with me since I watched it - always one of my main pointers to a good film. The three bonus shorts on the making of the film are fascinating, particularly the one about the real people who featured in the film (either as themselves or as cameos). The story is both a cautionary tale of the misuse of corporate power but also a reminder of the sacrifice that is sometimes associated with doing 'a good thing' (as Rob Bilott's tenacious actions over 15 years or so are described towards the end of the film).
8 out of 9 members found this review helpful.
Superb - Dark Waters review by JD
Amazing and frightening Class Action against DuPont , a true story .
Mark Ruffalo and Tim Robbins are excellent and the story unfolds slowly, but keeps you rooting for “the little guys”.
A story that had to be told, and I hope many people will watch and learn ...... to hope it never happens again.
InterestIng extras too, including interviews with many of the real- life characters from the movie.
6 out of 7 members found this review helpful.
Critic review
Dark Waters (aka The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare) review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso
Dark Waters follows in a long series of legal dramas about a truth-seeker trying to bring justice to an unjust world. In this case, Mark Ruffalo plays Ohio attorney Robert Billott in a battle against the DuPont company for their dumping of toxic waste into West Virginia. Todd Haynes directs and gives us more or less what the audience seeks out of such a tale. It’s intriguing, frustrating, agonizing, and ultimately leaves us tired of the corrupt system, almost as savaged as Ruffalo by the time the credits roll.
Billot is established as an attorney for a firm that represents DuPont. He doesn’t think much of it until he starts helping out on a farm in West Virginia and notices something odd. The cows are getting worse as they grow sick and die. A DuPont poisoning seems to be the culprit given the toxic water supply. Noticing is easy but proving this case is a whole other level of seeking justice.
Ruffalo very much plays the underdog in this story, constantly feeling low and lacking in enough power to bring about real change in the world. He even seems to be depicted as being below others in how the film is shot, giving a grand sense of scale to the mountain his character has to conquer. Compare his stature to that of his boss played by Tim Robbins who seems to cast a dark shadow over him, representing the towering nature of business being too much for one man to topple.
Dark Waters takes its sweet time but slowly envelopes the audience by digging deeper into the more startling information behind DuPont’s chemical dumping. It’s not just that it drives cows to the brink of death but that it brings about a much harmful effect for humans. The toxic chemicals enter the body and remain there, leading to some horrifying implications. It’s all the more depressing knowing this is true, the material ripped from a New York Times story.
It’s for this reason that it’s a bit more depressing to note that Dark Waters doesn’t exactly tread into the deep end of this genre of filmmaking. We’ve seen films like this before but as time has shown, it takes little more a mildly rousing investigation liberally grazed with true corruption. The film was executive produced by Ruffalo who is himself an environmental activist. He delivers a fine performance and brings across many of these troubling issues with great passion, much akin to other fervent legal dramas that come branded with a harrowing and insightful monologue. But it never quite breaks out of that shell of being compelling enough to be entertaining, yet routine enough to not inspire as largely as it should.
Dark Waters clearly has a great rage bubbling under its surface and while some of it rises, most of it feels held back in a rather by-the-numbers legal drama. The film is perhaps more unique as a commentary on the monotony of it all, how the fight for what’s right is a long road filled with paperwork and paranoia. It’s an intriguing commentary that I can only hope more audiences will notice past the fine performances.