Dark Waters 2019 * * * 1/2 Stars

Director: Todd Haynes
Year: 2019
Rated PG-13
Rating: * * * 1/2 Stars
Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins

"You tell me nothing is wrong here". Okay, it's true. Nothing is wrong with 2019's Dark Waters. Heck, it's one of the best and most monomania films of this year.

"Waters", while harboring a look of grubbiness and a subject matter that's equally as grubby, is a terrific true story drama, a naturalistic sort of documentary, and an effective, low key paranoia thriller to boot.

In verity, if you like the dreary temperament of North Country, the investigative candor of Erin Brockovich, the exhaustion of A Civil Action, or 2015's Spotlight, then Dark Waters will effectively put you in cinematic harm's way. It's about a corporate defense attorney who brings forth a lawsuit involving the famed chemical company named DuPont. DuPont is a large corporation that makes Teflon and Teflon might be responsible for many unexplained deaths.

Dialogue driven, perfectly acted, and maturely directed by LA native Todd Haynes, "Waters" runs 128 minutes and spans almost two decades.

The towns of Cincinnati, OH and Parkersburg, WV are featured in "Waters" as they appear like dreary landscapes waiting for the hellhole slaughter. Cows and people are dying, snow and fall skies are evident, and teeth of animals/humans are staining. Yup, Dark Waters is not meant for your entertainment or your feel-good constitution. It's meant to seep into your movie-goer's central nervous system while staying there.

As you view Dark Waters, you might adopt a fear of contaminated water. And I'm not talking about the kind of water where a certain great white shark is lingering or a trip to Mexico is calling. You'll also revel in the mesmerizing performances by Mark Ruffalo (he disappears into character via defense attorney Robert Bilott), Anne Hathaway (Bilott's intense wife), and Tim Robbins (Bilott's equally intense superior).

All in all, Dark Waters will garner multiple conspiracies and multiple Academy Award nominations this coming January (that's my prediction). "Hands (and hooves) across these waters". Rating: 3 and a half stars.

Written by Jesse Burleson