Review of Dark Waters (2019) by Markhreviews — 07 Dec 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 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.