93. Dark Waters; movie review

DARK WATERS
Cert 12A
127 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, disturbing images

Ever wondered if the water we drink and the food we eat is really safe?
Could it really be that it is potentially doing us harm?
In the United States, the prevalence of cancer affects approximately 5.5% of the population compared to a global average of 1.3%.
Studies have shown that cancer incidence in the American population has increased by 48% since 1950 (excluding cancers of the lung and stomach and adjusted for an ageing population).
Is nobody asking why?
I guess we should be feeling lucky that the levels in the UK are roughly half but, as Dark Waters emphasises, we should not be complacent.
Apparently, Mark Ruffalo is obsessed with the state of drinking water which is why he was keen to produce and star in the story of lawyer Rob Bilott.
The latter is seen in Dark Waters as a city lawyer with an upward trajectory at a firm which is a regular defender of major companies.
However, he is knocked off his tracks after being approached by a gruff farmer (Bill Camp) to help him sue chemical giant Dupont.
The farmer believes he, his family and his cattle are being poisoned by the drinking water and emissions into rivers and the air.
This is the Ruffalo we saw in Spotlight. Here is a dogged lawyer rather than a journalist but the investigative principles are similar and the progress and setbacks come in almost equal measure. It's a great performance.
Anne Hathaway plays Bilott's long-suffering wife who is left to bring up the children single-handed as he becomes obsessed with the case.
Tim Robbins portrays the head of Bilott's law firm, having to handle the political fall-out of him taking on one of the biggest companies in America,
The case is not only unpopular with his colleagues - the public is also against him because Dupont is a huge employer.
Dark Waters shows just how powerful major companies are in the United States and what it takes to challenge them.
It also openly suggests that the establishment cares little for human health.
I fear that those in power merely shrug their shoulders when faced with the evidence accumulated by activists. Thankfully, the courts should not.
Dark Waters is a compelling reflection of the push-me and pull-you of politics in America where money and power too often trump (deliberate pun) public health.
Director Todd Haynes gives an intense flavour to the David versus Goliath story. I was bound to like it and I did.

Reasons to watch: Compelling David vs Goliath story
Reasons to avoid: Quite a lot of lawyer-speak

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 9/10

Did you know? Last year The nonprofit Environmental Working Group and Northeastern University reported that 43 states have sites where water is contaminated with toxic fluorinated compounds.  Meanwhile, many farmworkers in California’s Central Valley have to buy bottled water because their tap water contains unsafe levels of arsenic and agricultural chemicals that have been linked to elevated risks of infant death and cancer in adults.

The final word. Todd Haynes: "I found the material staggering. It invaded me as a story — the story that Rob Bilott ultimately uncovered about DuPont, but also Rob’s story, the way he found this out [about DuPont], and the kind of series of people that he had to partner with to take on the behemoth." Vox

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