Direction: Todd Haynes
Country: USA
Todd Haynes, who has built a name for himself with dignified dramas such as Far From Heaven (2002), I’m Not There (2007), Safe (1995), and Carol (2015), turns his eyes to a legal and environmental investigative story in Dark Waters, a non-fiction tale in the line of Erin Brockovich. The script, written by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan (State of Play; World War Z), was based on a 2016 article published in the New York Times Magazine, informing about the 20-year battle of corporate defense attorney turned environmental activist Robert Bilott against the giant chemical corporation DuPont. The irresponsible men behind the cited company were accused of poisoning the drinking water of Parkersburg, West Virginia, with noxious chemicals.
Outraged with DuPont’s shadowy schemes to hide the truth from the Government, Bilott refuses to give up disclosing a sea of dishonesty, negligence, and corruption, even if that means to jeopardize his stable career, his relationship with his wife (Anne Hathaway), and his own life.
Mark Ruffalo brings the persistent attorney into being, but his performance, along with the rest of the cast, is colorless. Moreover, the film’s points are made obvious in an early phase, with the story dragging for an entire hour with monotonous dialogue. Although I found myself interested in the topic itself, the film fatigues in consequence of the heavy pace and lack of surprise. Dark Waters wasn't as twisty as it promised at the outset, a fact aggravated with a constant incapacity to depart from the conventional.
Maybe due to the nature of the story, Haynes opted for a more mainstream approach in the filmmaking and storytelling. It was never gratifying.
