Dark Waters

Focus Features | Release Date: November 22, 2019

8.0	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 122 Ratings

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TVJerryDec 12, 2019

Mark Ruffalo stars as the tenacious attorney who uncovers the truth about a toxic chemical that's being dumped in a small farming community by DuPont. His fight is long and frustrating, but not as long and frustrating as the film itself. EvenMark Ruffalo stars as the tenacious attorney who uncovers the truth about a toxic chemical that's being dumped in a small farming community by DuPont. His fight is long and frustrating, but not as long and frustrating as the film itself. Even though this is inspired by a true story, the narrative plays out in predictable beats without any surprises or even inspired dramatic moments. Ruffalo's performance is dedicated, but the lackadaisical direction by Todd Haynes fails to ignite any genuine sympathy or even outrage. An interesting historical story, but the original New York Times Magazine article is probably just as informative and effective.… Expand

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GreatMartinDec 10, 2019

About half way into the film there is a 15-20 second that will have you holding your breath, sitting on the edge of your seat and waiting for the outcome. Though you have seen this scene in many movies it still catches and you wish the restAbout half way into the film there is a 15-20 second that will have you holding your breath, sitting on the edge of your seat and waiting for the outcome. Though you have seen this scene in many movies it still catches and you wish the rest of the movie was as suspenseful.

"Dark Waters" is about a lawyer who defended big companies and now is heading a class law suit against one of the biggest--Dupont! Mark Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott who has been just made partner of a well known admired law firm. He is not the sharp, $1,000 suit-wearing guy you mostly see in movies but when a farmer from West Virginia, a friend of his grandmother, comes in with a load of video tapes and eventually shows him where he has buried a hundred of his cows, along with the organs of many, Bilott feels he has no choice and takes the case against the thoughts of other partners.

The case takes almost 20 years to be decided and we follow along how Dupont not manipulated the government but also the people. You may not have heard of PFOA but you are familiar with Teflon which is not only used in cookware and how it does kill people and disfigures babies.

This is very much a procedural movie without much dramatics but it handles 20 decades in a little over 2 hours smoothly and let's us get to know many of the characters who are real people as this film is based on a story originally written in the New York Times.

In the end credits you get to see some of the people but in the movie, along with Mark Ruffalo, the actors such as Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pulman, Victor Garber and Bill Camp with others, do a solid job of making their characters believable.

As with many films this season "Dark Waters" runs over 2 hours and this one could have been a little tighter but director Todd Haynes had to cover 18-19 years and does it smartly.… Expand

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moviemitch96Dec 5, 2019

A pretty unsettling film in many regards, this film chronicled the DuPont company's cover-up of contaminating chemicals found in their water for the longest time. Mark Ruffalo puts on a great performance here, but the film feels prettyA pretty unsettling film in many regards, this film chronicled the DuPont company's cover-up of contaminating chemicals found in their water for the longest time. Mark Ruffalo puts on a great performance here, but the film feels pretty standard and straightforward for my liking in terms of a biopic. Overall, it's disturbing but also kind of forgettable.… Expand

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amheretojudgeNov 30, 2019

Todd's welcoming gift to this article alike film is important. Grammatically incorrect and even lofty in its speech. But suitably important and that is enough to peddle.

Dark Waters The director Todd Haynes's desk is under tons and tons ofTodd's welcoming gift to this article alike film is important. Grammatically incorrect and even lofty in its speech. But suitably important and that is enough to peddle.

Dark Waters

The director Todd Haynes's desk is under tons and tons of paper. The challenging ones are shuffled in a two hour narration and sprinkled incoherently as opposed to a proper structure. It is very rare to see a film that is directed by someone and written by someone else and still lacks a definite pattern. Maybe that is the pattern or simply I don't get it- it's usually the latter one, trust me. But what Todd needs primarily is steadiness. Accepting the calmness, the patience that a job like such offers. Waiting for the formality to settle in and then stir the soup. He is just not ready to let it sit for a while. What we then get is always, everything is said to be in motion, no matter how inedible it grows. It is preposterous how the family drama, the conflict that could have easily rattled you, instead just disenchants you from buying into what they care about. It takes a lot of time for them to finally get into our head, almost in its final act, do we get to sit and mourn, meaningfully. To be honest, I am also going to blame the lack of chemistry between Anne Hathaway and Mark Ruffalo. Ruffalo who is basically a wild bear wearing a suit with manners and etiquette like some member of a White House joining for a big dinner, Hathaway unfortunately feels too sober to enjoy and let it affect her. She is simply not open enough. She had to hold the inner "warning" monologue of Ruffalo and instead she is found to be a delicious side dish that just doesn't fit into this cruel chemically conspired world.… Expand

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MarkHReviewsDec 7, 2019

“Dark Waters” is stark proof that important films are not always enjoyable. This is a film people should see. Just don’t expect a pleasant journey, much less a mindless escape.

In 1999, Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is a corporate attorney in“Dark Waters” is stark proof that important films are not always enjoyable. This is a film people should see. Just don’t expect a pleasant journey, much less a mindless escape.

In 1999, Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is a corporate attorney in a Cincinnati firm that specializes in defending chemical companies. When a farmer from Parkersburg, WV, suddenly appears at the office, claiming that humans and animals were being affected by the runoff from the local Dupont plant, Bilott ultimately switches sides and takes the case. At this point, we’re introduced to PFOA (also called C-8), a chemical compound used by 3M (Scotchgard) and Dupont (Teflon). It would be tempting to launch into endless details about the well-documented lying, foot-dragging and general malfeasance of Dupont (as far back as 1961, Dupont’s internal medical studies showed that C-8 posed enormous health risks for their own employees). Since this is a movie review, suffice it to say that corporate transparency and civic responsibility are not key themes in this film. In the hands of a director less skilled than Todd Haynes (“Safe,” “Carol,” “Far from Heaven”), this film might have been a polarizing, over-the-top political diatribe. But Haynes veers away from vitriolic exposition, instead infusing the film with a consistently ominous score and dark, washed-out visuals that convey much more about impotent rage and pervasive hopelessness than any speech could accomplish.

As the main character, Mark Ruffalo is excellent. He again conjures up the righteous indignation and poignant disappointment that suffused his character in “Spotlight.” But here, his role is a bit more complex, with Bilott’s Midwestern diffidence and deference initially obscuring his dogged determination to pursue the case. Tim Robbins is powerful as his boss, Tom Terp. Bill Pullman and Anne Hathaway make forgettable appearances. As the initial plaintiff, long-time actor Bill Camp (also seen in this year’s “Joker” and “The Kitchen”) steals the show as a gruff, blunt, no-nonsense man who just wants common sense to prevail.

This is a film intended to stir outrage. It succeeds. According to Nathaniel Rich’s January 6, 2016, article in the “New York Times Magazine,” which forms the basis for this film, data from nearly 70,000 West Virginia blood samples has demonstrated that PFOA causes “kidney cancer, thyroid cancer, high cholesterol, pre-eclampsia and ulcerative colitis.” Today, EPA’s website defines a safe PFOA level as .007 parts per billion. On average, Americans harbor 4 parts per billion in their bodies. Nearly every American ever tested has PFOA in the bloodstream. But even now, EPA offers only “health advisories” on PFOA, guidance that its website defines as “non-enforceable and non-regulatory.” Outrageous, indeed.… Expand

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RobwinzApr 19, 2020

Mark Ruffalo is pretty good in this movie, there is some good cinematography in this movie I'll give you that. Also, there's a moment in this movie where they've got a backdrop in a building and the outside doesn't look real at all, sort ofMark Ruffalo is pretty good in this movie, there is some good cinematography in this movie I'll give you that. Also, there's a moment in this movie where they've got a backdrop in a building and the outside doesn't look real at all, sort of reminds me of the 1982 snowman cartoon. Finally, the cows in this movie dont look real at all, they just look very CGI. Overall, I'd say it's got its moments as a movie but it could have been a little bit better because it felt like it dragged.… Expand

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