Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A tenacious attorney uncovers a dark secret that connects a growing number of unexplained deaths to one of the world's largest corporations. In the process, he risks everything — his future, his family, and his own life — to expose the truth.
Dark Waters is a well-executed legal thriller grounded in a genuinely harrowing true story about DuPont's PFOA contamination. The plot is methodically constructed and unflinching in its indictment of corporate negligence, earning a high mark for its coherence and moral weight. Mark Ruffalo delivers a quietly compelling, physically transformative performance, and the supporting cast — including Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins — is strong throughout. Cinematographically, Todd Haynes opts for a desaturated, grimly functional palette that suits the material but rarely transcends it. Novelty is where the film falls short of distinction: it follows the well-worn corporate-malfeasance procedural template established by films like Erin Brockovich and Spotlight without meaningfully departing from the form. The ending is honest and sobering — resisting a triumphant resolution — but its open-ended 'the fight continues' conclusion, while accurate, feels somewhat anticlimactic dramatically.