A COMMITTED lawyer battles for decades to take an uncaring corporate empire to task for unjustly treating helpless, working-class people.
If it didn’t happen so damned often in real life it would be a cinematic cliche.
Actually, it is a cinematic cliche but it’s a good one that continues to stand the test of time.
One of the latest iterations is Dark Waters which tells the story of Ohio attorney Robert Bilott’s 20-year legal fight against the Dupont chemical company on behalf of a group of farmers in his home town in Virginia whose properties and animals were poisoned by river and water supply contamination.
The twist in this story is that Bilott’s company was actually known for defending major companies and Dupont was one of its major clients.
One day in 1998 Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is visited by farmer Wilbur Tennant, brilliantly played by Bill Camp, who has been sent there by Bilott’s grandmother.
Tennant’s herd has been devastated by a mystery ailment and he and neighbouring farmers are convinced the local chemcial factory’s waste water discharge is responsible.
Bilott’s boss lets him approach Dupont to look into the matter, almost as a favour, but the company’s initial welcoming attitude gives way to fury and antagonism when Bilott won’t accept what he believes are dismissive and misleading excuses.
What follows is a battle of wills over a protracted period as the dogged Bilott, who starts to believe human health may also be impacted, is buried with years of information by Dupont executives who mistakenly think he will never have the time or inclination to interrogate everything.
It’s pretty hard to go wrong with this type of real-life dramatic material. The script is based on a New York Times magazine article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” and the director is Todd Haynes whose eclectic filmography includes Wonderstruck, Carol, I’m Not There and Far From Heaven.
Mark Ruffalo is a good actor but unfortunately hes part of the Narvel Universe which means seven of his last 15 roles have been playing The Hulk.
‘This is his best role and film since he was part of the journalism team exposing Church abuse in 2015’s Spotlight. He gets good support from the likes of Anne Hathaway as his wife Sarah, Tim Robbins as his boss Tom Terp, who backs him despite pressure from Dupont, and Bill Pullman.
Bill Camp is a stand-out as the gruff and stoic farmer who has reached his breaking point. Camp is one of those actors whose face you will know and always gives a solid performance.
Since 2017 he has also appeared in films like Joker, Vice, Molly’s Game and The Killing of a Sacred Deer, as well as the recent television drama The Outsider opposite my favourite Ben Mendelsohn