An important film more should be talking about

Thank Goodness for Mark Ruffalo, he made a good movie excellent.

A very engaging drama exposing the deep cuts of corruption that attempted to cover up the criminally negligent water pollution of rural America and how long and hard good Samaritans like Mark Ruffalo's character had to fight to penalize them. Anne Hathaway's character unfortunately drags the movie down with her thankless role as the hysterical wife, as most of her sevens just have her impatiently shouting at Mark Ruffalo, cause God forbid saving people from water pollution take longer than a week to complete in court (seriously, she is like the most fair-weather spouse I've seen in a while). That being said, the rest of the movie is still very thrilling and poignant with its focus on widespread corruption and apathy towards environmental negligence, and how important it is for us to fight back, no matter how long it takes or how dire it may be. For this is the only planet we've got, and we can't let greed get in the way, no matter how hard they kick and scream along the way.

Way too long and boring.

Dark Waters is a drama-heavy story about endurance to overcome powerful organizations, pushing to do the right thing. It's slow-driven plot is laser-focused on the events that led to the prosecution of DuPont over negligence in securing safe disposal of chemicals, meanwhile the protagonist is juggling his marriage, career, and health. Quite powerful story, shying away from being a masterpiece. The main character of this story is Rob Billot, maybe at time a well-known lawyer that took on the job to bring DuPont to Justice for their negligence on securing water supplies from contamination. Rob Billot wants to prove that DuPont knowingly disposed of a new chemical called C8 in unsafe matters out of pure greed, since DuPont was making billions from their newest product, Teflon®. Rob has a somewhat flat arc in the story, though. The movie is not about his change from A to B, but rather about his determination to make DuPont accountable. Yes, Rob starts the movie somewhat insecure, but there is no noticeable change in character evident enough to contrast with its development. The movie is dramatization of events, and that's what it focuses on. There aren't other relevant characters that we can focus on, most of them secondary characters that serve the purpose of dramatizing events. It is unclear if Rob's matrimonial problems were even real or just Plot B convenience. Mark Ruffalo is a consolidated actor portraying Rob Billot through his natural skills. His work is good, to say the least; not Oscar-worthy, but good. Same can be said by Anne Hathaway. Now, Tim Robbins does do a fine job on his acting, but the scene where he is going all in to convince the associates of the firm that they should accept the DuPont case is top notch. A chilling and powerful scene, dialogue only, but worthy of at least an applause. Dark Waters is a drama movie, so the plot is a retelling of events with some sprinkles of emotional conflicts in it. Build up is absent, the movie starts with the inciting incident right away, throwing Rob right into the problem at hand. Casuals might find the pacing a bit jumpy because the movie focuses on the main events of this whole case, which span multiple years. Throughout the story, year jumps happen to move the plot forward to the next key event, progressing the case, easy to follow each transition, but it happens. The focus of the plot is on how Rob endured through challenges to keep the case alive, all while his health deteriorates. True to its genre, Dark Waters is not highly thrilling, nor action driven, instead emphasizing the emotional elements of such powerful case, as aforementioned, with maybe a bit of fictional conflict in the mix, theme highlighting how powerful companies think they can do whatever they want while buying immunity with money. Todd Haynes is the Director, a name that doesn't really ring any bells. Quick research shows that he's known for some underdog works, maybe too underground for regular audiences. Regardless, Dark Waters might be his better work — IMDb ratings don't lie. Dark Waters did not win awards, though it got 10 nominations, a testament to its power. It is not a movie for everyone, but drama lovers will find joy in its story.

All credit and all praises to Mark Ruffalo, who had the determination to produce this dramatic telling of the true story. The subject matter is depressing in the extreme, especially when the viewer considers the far wider implications of this story: 1) the innovations and technologies that the modern world touts as “progress” kills millions of people around the world in myriad ways, and 2) What we call the “justice system” has no effectual way of reliably protecting the public. The mechanisms of capitalism lie at the heart of this TRUE story. I highly recommend this to everyone!

This movie is phenomenal. Written very well and tells a true store that really makes you think. It’s actually mind boggling how true this is.

Don't waste your time with this movie if you are a movie fan. Watch "A Civil Action" with John Travolta, that one is great. This movie cannot decide on what it wants to be. I just watched it on Netflix last week, and was disappointed in it. I think the cast was okay in this one, but just. Ruffalo is bland as an old guy lawyer, and you don't really get the tension between him, his boss, his firm, or even his wife played by Anne Hathaway. The directing is fine, but the script and the producing are what is to blame here. The whole thing is rather disjointed in my mind, especially the relationship with the farmer, which is overplayed by Bill Camp, but I imagine that is how it was written. Tim Robbins is supposed to support the lawyer, or maybe is his antagonist, I'm not really sure. The wife is supposed to support her husband, or maybe doesn't, I'm not really sure. Also, the production really fails miserably in the timeline. They say it's the 90's yet the main character drives a 70's Toyota Corolla. Then the tease him, so he gets a new car in 1999 that is an 80's Buick or something because he needs the trunk space? I don't know, and apparently they don't either. The costumes, set, and props are more from the 70's than the 90's so it really messed with my head. The courtroom drama, which is really what viewers tune into during these types of David vs. Goliath stories, is pale in comparison to other movies of the same vernacular. Muddled, confusing to the viewer, and overall a dud in my mind.

Good, fact-based account of Dupont's polluting of our water for corporate profit. Teflon is not worth having C-8 in every single person in America and most of the wildlife. It could have been a more interesting movie, but the story was important to tell.

Very shocking and great acting throughout.A definite must see.

A horrifying, real life tale of capitalist greed & evil. There is no happy ending. But we need to know.

Maravillosa y espectacular producción. Es increíble que sea un caso de la vida real. Un drama que te envuelve desde el inicio. Las actuaciones son impecables.

I think everyone needs to see this movie. More people need to be more aware of what some people do for money, no matter who they hurt or kill.

Very good true story and well documented. This should have been better advertised but I guess they were protecting big corporations like DuPont and Teflon. I highly recommend this movie.

Power and corruption are one hell of a drug. The movie has an eerie feel to how scary the situation can be. A must watch for everyone!

Excellent and Great acting

It is an absolute must-see movie! Inspired on real-life events with a great production and cast. I would highly recommend!

A wake up call to all the bad that chemical companies are able to get away with and sad to what happens to the victims and the battles they have to endure.

Amazing movie and scary to know what they did to the world without much penalty!!! Great cast!! Recommended to all my friends

This is an important film to watch! The underlying problems of forever chemicals and how allowing self-regulating in industry has hurt us is well-explained. However, I wish a bit more about the people impacted has been discussed. It also felt like Hathaway’s talent was wasted in this movie. Worth watching! 4.5 stars