During the 20th century, DuPont was one of the largest chemical companies renowned internationally. Famous for many of its innovative cooking products, namely the non stick ingredient in frying pans known as Teflon, it wa. It also covered up the poisoning of many of its employees and consumers in one of the biggest scandals with ongoing ramifications. Directed by Todd Haynes (Far from Heaven), Dark Waters begins with an ambitious corporate lawyer on side with the big guns. For years Rob Billot (Mark Ruffalo), has defended chemical companies until farmer Wilbur Tennant approaches him with the news that his property in West Virginia has been contaminated with the chemicals, endangering his livestock and livelihood. Initially hesitant but urged by his grandmother, Billott takes the case and realises just what he’s dived into.
It’s an upstream battle from here, as the usual legal thriller tropes of being buried in piles of discovery ensue. Ruffalo’s Bilott is a quiet, yet fiercely determined man, and his own family ties including former lawyer and wife Sarah (Anne Hathaway) pressure him to drop the all-consuming case that leaves no time in his life for anything else. CEO Phil Donnelly (Victor Garber) begins cordial negotiations, but the sheer might of the company and all it stands to lose in reputation threatens to drown Bilott. Generally, the size and scope of DuPont’s influence is overwhelming, as even outside of cooking products, Teflon is so widely used in plastics that its likely that every American has the chemical in their bloodstream.
The town does not take kindly to the news that their biggest employer is liable and complicit in their water being poisoned and their health at risk. Largely unregulated outside of the internal policies, it’s revealed that not only did the company conduct studies on the health defects of its employees, it continued production with Teflon despite the knowledge.
The case is a reminder that not all legal battles are glamorous courtoom dramas in the style of A Few Good Men. Some are drawn out, exhausting affairs that see grey and greenlit rooms with endless document review. That’s perhaps where the movie falters, not so much in its content but its manner of presentation. There’s no magical montage or dramatic penny drop expose. Just a mild-mannered lawyer with a fastidious work ethic against a corporation who has effectively changed all of our lives.
Doing the right thing is costly, riskly and draining, but it is necessary. At times the film deviates into murky territory, but it is chartered with a strong cast and an honest attempt at one man’s ongoing battle.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Universal Pictures Australia
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