Dark Waters movie review

MOVIE TITLE:     Dark Waters

RATING:  PG-13

LENGTH:    2 hours, 6 minutes

Movie Review Mom GRADE:   B

IN A NUTSHELL:

Directed by Todd Haynes, this David and Goliath thriller will keep you fascinated and outraged.  Considering the subject matter and that this is a true story, this movie could actually be called a horror movie. Water is life, which is what makes this movie so compelling and frightening.  The EPA only started regulating chemicals in 1976, so who knows what else we have been consuming all of our lives!  In the movie, we learn about “forever chemicals” that are mostly likely in every human on earth.  EEK!

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

• Kids will be extremely bored.
• You see internal organs from various animals.
• A man shoots a cow.
• Some profanity and 2 F-bombs.
• A boy asks what a hooker is.

THEMES:

• Truth, facts
• Sacrifice
• Greed
• Environmental protection
• Tenacity

THINGS I LIKED:

• • The fantastic cast includes Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Pullman, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, and Mare Winningham.
  • Who doesn’t love Mark Ruffalo?  He gives a very earnest, passionate performance.  This is the second time he has been in a movie dealing with the DuPoint family.  The first one was  Foxcatcher.

• I always get a kick out of the names that the movies are originally given. This one was “Dry Run”, which is actually the name of an important landfill in the story.
• Interestingly, the symbol of Cincinnati where some of the characters were working is a sculpture called, “The Genius of Water.”
• The tension builds slowly but with strong progression  It kind of feels like a John Grisham book/film, although not as entertaining.
• I always love movies that educate us on true events and important issues.
• You get to see pictures and footage of the real people and events during the film.  At the end, you’ll read what the latest efforts are.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

• This movie isn’t anything we haven’t seen before.
• Sexist comments about “lady lawyers.”
• It doesn’t have the humor and sizzle of Julia Roberts’ delivery in Erin Brockovich .  This movie is VERY dramatic.
• There’s a lot of shouting and fist-pounding.

FUNNY LINES:

• “This is a courtroom, Mr.Winter, not the Home Shopping Network.” – Judge

INTERESTING LINES:

• “They want us to think they protect us but it’s a lie. WE protect us.” –  Robert Bilott       (Mark Ruffalo)

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@TrinaBoice