{"id":5156,"date":"2019-12-01T01:00:47","date_gmt":"2019-12-01T08:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/?p=5156"},"modified":"2019-12-05T13:39:05","modified_gmt":"2019-12-05T20:39:05","slug":"dark-waters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/2019\/dark-waters\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Waters * Compelling Look at One Man\u2019s Fight Against the Corrupt Practices of a Multi-Billion Dollar Company"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/darkwaters.poster.jpg?resize=152%2C225&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5167\" width=\"152\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/darkwaters.poster.jpg?resize=203%2C300&amp;ssl=1 203w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/darkwaters.poster.jpg?w=675&amp;ssl=1 675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 152px) 100vw, 152px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>From\nParticipant (Spotlight, Green Book), DARK WATERS tells the shocking and heroic\nstory of an attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who risks his career and family to uncover\na dark secret hidden by one of the world\u2019s largest corporations and to bring\njustice to a community dangerously exposed for decades to deadly chemicals. Corporate\nenvironmental defense attorney Rob Bilott (Academy Award\u00ae-nominee Mark Ruffalo)\nhas just made partner at his prestigious Cincinnati\nlaw firm in large part due to his work defending Big Chem companies. He finds\nhimself conflicted after he\u2019s contacted by two West Virginia farmers who believe that the\nlocal DuPont plant is dumping toxic waste in the area landfill that is\ndestroying their fields and killing their cattle. Hoping to learn the truth\nabout just what is happening, Bilott, with help from his supervising partner in\nthe firm, Tom Terp (Academy Award\u00ae-winner Tim Robbins), files a complaint that\nmarks the beginning of an epic 15-year fight\u2014one that will not only test his\nrelationship with his wife, Sarah (Academy Award\u00ae-winner Anne Hathaway) but\nalso his reputation, his health and his livelihood.&nbsp;KIDS FIRST! Film\nCritic Benjamin P. comments, \u201c<em>Dark Waters <\/em>is a compelling look at one man\u2019s fight\nagainst the corrupt practices of a multi-billion dollar company.\u201d See his full\nreview below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dark Waters<br>Benjamin P., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, Age 14<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_HWWJrdRyZo\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Dark Waters <\/em>is a compelling look at one man\u2019s fight against the corrupt practices of a multi-billion dollar company. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_16048_R1573588577.jpg?resize=225%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5164\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_16048_R1573588577.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_16048_R1573588577.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_16048_R1573588577.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_16048_R1573588577.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption>Bill Camp (left) as &#8220;Wilbur Tennant&#8221; and Mark Ruffalo (right) as &#8220;Robert Bilott&#8221; in director Todd Haynes&#8217; DARK WATERS, a Focus Features release. Credit : Mary Cybulski \/ Focus Features<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on a true story, <em>Dark Waters <\/em>follows\nRob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), a corporate lawyer who gets a call from a family\nfriend named Wilbur (Bill Camp) about a disturbance on his farm in West Virginia. Over 100\nof Wilbur\u2019s cows have died and he suspects it has something to do with the\ncreek running through his property. Wilbur\u2019s hunch becomes a frightening truth\nas Rob investigates decades\u2019 worth of wrong-doing by the DuPont chemical company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mark Ruffalo portrayal of Rob Bilott is excellent. He\u2019s plays the legal\nscenes with conviction, but he feels more like a vessel to receive information\nthan a fully- formed character. We see plenty of Bilott\u2019s moral standards, but\nwe rarely get a sense of what drives him to do the work he does or who he is\nemotionally. It makes it harder to fully connect with and invest in his\ncharacter. A performance worth noting with much less screen time is Bill\nPullman as lawyer Harry Dietzler. Pullman\ngives <em>Dark Waters<\/em> a boost of energy.\nHe\u2019s not comedic relief, but he\u2019s certainly a breath of fresh air. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignleft size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04592_R1568757863.jpg?resize=225%2C150&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5157\" width=\"225\" height=\"150\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04592_R1568757863.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04592_R1568757863.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04592_R1568757863.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04592_R1568757863.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption>Mark Ruffalo stars as &#8220;Robert Bilott&#8221; in director Todd Haynes&#8217; DARK WATERS, a Focus Features release. Credit : Mary Cybulski \/ Focus Features<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Todd Haynes\u2019s direction is both impressive and overbearing. Haynes has a\nflair for stylistic flourishes in his other films and here the moody, muted\nlighting that clouds much of the film creates a feeling of anxiety that makes\nevery step of Rob\u2019s journey and what he discovers uncomfortable in a way that\u2019s\nvery effective. By the same token, the color scheme is dark and dreary\nthroughout and the film ends up with a dull sheen and a tone that feels at\ntimes heavy-handed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An aspect of the filmmaking I love is the use of tracking shots to show\nnot only the lives that DuPont destroyed, but the communities too. <em>Dark Waters <\/em>is unflinching when it comes\nto depicting the consequences of DuPont\u2019s malpractice. It tells and more\nspecifically, shows it, in a way that rightfully stirs up an audience reaction\nof anger and injustice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-medium is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04894_RC1573588576.jpg?resize=225%2C95&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5163\" width=\"225\" height=\"95\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04894_RC1573588576.jpg?resize=300%2C126&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04894_RC1573588576.jpg?resize=1024%2C428&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04894_RC1573588576.jpg?resize=768%2C321&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/DARKWATERS.UTHF_04894_RC1573588576.jpg?w=1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><figcaption>Mark Ruffalo stars as &#8220;Robert Bilott&#8221; in director Todd Haynes&#8217; DARK WATERS, a Focus Features release. Credit : Mary Cybulski \/ Focus Features<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I recommend <em>Dark Waters <\/em>for ages12 to 18 for some shocking images and brief language. I give it 3\nout of 5 stars. If you\u2019re looking for a good or feel-good time at the cinema\nfor the holidays, this isn\u2019t it, but <em>Dark\nWaters <\/em>is definitely an informative andimportant film. <em>Dark Waters <\/em>opens\nin theaters November 27, 2019. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From Participant (Spotlight, Green Book), DARK WATERS tells the shocking and heroic story of an attorney (Mark Ruffalo) who risks his career and family to uncover a dark secret hidden by one of the world\u2019s largest corporations and to bring justice to a community dangerously exposed for decades to deadly chemicals. Corporate environmental defense attorney Rob Bilott (Academy Award\u00ae-nominee Mark Ruffalo) has just made partner at his prestigious Cincinnati law firm in large part due to his work defending Big Chem companies. He finds himself conflicted after he\u2019s contacted by two West Virginia farmers who believe that the local DuPont plant is dumping toxic waste in the area landfill that is destroying their fields and killing their cattle. Hoping to learn the truth about just what is happening, Bilott, with help from his supervising partner in the firm, Tom Terp (Academy Award\u00ae-winner Tim Robbins), files a complaint that marks the beginning of an epic 15-year fight\u2014one that will not only test his relationship with his wife, Sarah (Academy Award\u00ae-winner Anne Hathaway) but also his reputation, his health and his livelihood. KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Benjamin P. comments, \u201cDark Waters is a compelling look at one man\u2019s fight against the corrupt practices of a multi-billion dollar company.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[15],"tags":[1020,155,1024,1029,1014,1017,1015,1039,1038,1040,1037,1031,1019,583,1023,1018,1016,1034,1033,1035,1032,1026,1030,1028,1027,1021,1022,1025,1036],"class_list":["post-5156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-feature-film-reviews","tag-anne-hathaway","tag-avengers","tag-bill-pullman","tag-carol","tag-cinema","tag-clips","tag-dark-waters","tag-dark-waters-movie","tag-dogman","tag-dupont-chemical-lawsuit","tag-dupont-movie","tag-far-from-heaven","tag-featurettes","tag-focus-features","tag-green-book","tag-independent-film","tag-mark-ruffalo","tag-modern-love","tag-oceans-8","tag-oscars","tag-princess-diaries","tag-spotlight","tag-the-hulk","tag-the-hustle","tag-the-post","tag-tim-robbins","tag-todd-haynes","tag-victor-garber","tag-william-jackson-harper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paS5I2-1la","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5156"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5170,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5156\/revisions\/5170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kidsfirst.org\/kidsfirstnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}