Dark Waters

Thriller/Drama/Romance

Mild-mannered defence lawyer Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) works at Taft Stettinius & Hollister, which represents some of America's most powerful chemicals companies.

He receives a visit from farmer Wilbur Tennant (Bill Camp), who lives in Parkersburg, West Virginia.

Wilbur is a neighbour of Rob's grandmother and has been persuaded to deliver a cardboard box of videotapes to the Taft office, detailing the decimation of his cow herd on land adjoining a DuPont chemical plant.

Despite his heavy workload, Rob drives to Parkersburg to visit Wilbur, his wife Sarah (Denise Sal Vera) and their children.

The lawyer is horrified to learn the family has lost almost 200 animals.

With the blessing of his boss (Tim Robbins), Rob unearths evidence that the manmade PFOA chemical used in the production of Teflon might have leaked into the Parkersburg water supply.

Inspired by a New York Times magazine article, Dark Waters is a slow-burning thriller about a dogged fight for justice lasting more than 20 years.

Ruffalo transforms from muscular Avengers superhero to a hunched, harangued,

jowly workaholic. Oscar winner Anne Hathaway is poorly served in comparison as his on-screen spouse, who witnesses the heavy emotional burden borne by her husband as he goes to war against a corporate behemoth.

Screenwriters Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan infuse a conventional David versus Goliath legal wrangle with jangling paranoia reminiscent of The Parallax View.

They tether the inevitable courtroom showdown to an unlikely hero, who sacrifices his health and personal relationships to defiantly speak for thousands of God-fearing men, women and children, who are victims of indifference on a grotesque scale.