The top trending titles on Netflix this week are all about romance and thrills: on the TV side, Bridgerton reigns, while when it comes to film, Glen Powell’s Hit Man is still undefeated in the US. However, one of the best films that you can watch on the platform is not on their most-watched lists this week. But it’s definitely a must watch: ‘Dark Waters,’ starring Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway.
‘Dark Waters’ is a legal thriller which is based on a real-life story of Robert Billott, a lawyer known for his 20-year litigation against the chemical manufacturing corporation DuPont after they contaminated the water of rural towns in West Virginia with unregulated chemicals.
The movie, which is directed by Todd Haynes, was mostly based on The New York Times Magazine 2016 article, “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare” by Nathaniel Rich. While it’s not on Netflix’s Top 10, this drama is still one of the most popular titles on streaming this week, according to JustWatch.
‘Dark Waters,’ a must-watch legal drama based on a true story
Despite having a star-studded cast and being directed by a renowned filmmaker as Haynes, the movie, which was originally released in 2019, was overlooked by the Oscars and other major awards. However, it was a critical darling, receiving mostly positive reviews for its script, performances and direction.
Ruffalo stars as Billott, while Hathaway plays his wife Sarah Barlage Bilott. The rest of the cast includes Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, Bill Pullman, William Jackson, Louisa Krause, Kevin Crowley and Elizabeth Marvel. The movie also includes real victims of the cases, as well.
In the film, we follow how Billott started his long-time legal battle against DuPont, the company mostly known for producing the popular non-stick Teflon pans. One thing about the movie that critics have admired the most is the fact that it doesn’t embellish the true story in the dramatization, sticking mostly to the facts.
And, in words of Ruffalo, the facts are that the film follows “one of the greatest cover-ups in American history, and it affects everyone in the world now, and nobody knows about it,” he told ABC news back in 2019. “PFOA, it’s pretty much everywhere. They first found it in eagle eggs and that’s what kind of raised the alarm in the first place, but they found it everywhere. It’s in polar bears, it’s in 99% of all living creatures on the planet,” he explained.
So, if you’re looking for a daunting legal drama, ‘Dark Waters’ might be the perfect watch as, sadly, it was kind of overlooked at the time of its release. It’s not only a film about a specific case, but about a whole system that still puts us, all of us, in danger.