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Dark Waters

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8 / 10

1 Review

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Overview

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.

Media

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DARK WATERS | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 22

Cast

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Tim Robbins

Mark Ruffalo

Anne Hathaway

Bill Camp

Director:

Todd Haynes

Writer:

Mario Correa, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Nathaniel Rich

Release Date:

2019-11-22

Run Time:

127m

Tagline:

The truth has a man on the inside.

Genres:

Drama Thriller

Keywords:

1990s anxious based on magazine, newspaper or article based on true story biography biting blood test cancer chemical contamination clinical critical farmer foreboding government corruption grave grim lawsuit lawyer legal thriller mysterious ominous paranoid pollution somber suspenseful water pollution west virginia

Financials and Popularity

Budget: 20,000,000.00 $

Revenue: 13,601,384.00 $

Vote Average: 7.5/10

Vote Count: 2515 Votes

Movie Popularity: 6.5613

Spoken Languages: English

Review

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Insomniacs Reviews
- 01 May 2026 at 9:02 am

8 Based on 1 Votes

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⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 8/10 THE SUMMARY Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is a corporate defense attorney who has spent his career protecting big chemical companies. That changes when a desperate farmer from West Virginia, a connection from his grandmother, shows him a pained reality: his cattle are dying, and the land is poisoned. As Robert digs deeper, he uncovers a gritty secret that one of the world's largest corporations has been hiding for decades. It’s a visceral, David-vs-Goliath legal thriller that follows one man’s pained obsession to expose a global conspiracy that has contaminated the very water we drink. THE PROS Mark Ruffalo is the honest anchor of this film, delivering a pained, stoic performance that perfectly captures the toll of a decades-long legal battle. It hits an 8 because the story is told with a cold, clinical precision that makes the horror of the reality feel even more visceral. The script avoids flashy courtroom theatrics for a gritty, step-by-step look at how corporate greed can quietly dismantle a community. Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins provide punchy supporting turns that ground the pained stakes of Robert's mission. It’s an epic achievement in investigative storytelling, making a complex environmental case feel as tense as any high-stakes heist movie. THE CONS It stays at an 8 because the slow-burn pacing is a massive commitment; the film spans years of legal deadlocks, which might feel a touch repetitive for some. It misses a higher mark because the lighting and color palette are intentionally drab and grey to match the pained tone, which can make the nearly two-hour runtime feel a bit draining. While the story is an honest belter, it follows a fairly traditional "crusading lawyer" blueprint that doesn't offer many narrative surprises, even if the real-life facts are a massive head-scratcher. THE VERDICT 8/10. A gritty, pained, and incredibly important piece of cinema. It’s a fair shout for the most sobering thriller of its year and an honest reminder of why we need people like Bilott in the world. INSOMNIAC TRIVIA • The film is based on the New York Times Magazine article 'The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare,' and the real Robert Bilott and his wife Sarah were sincere consultants throughout the production. • To keep the film feeling honest, many of the extras in the West Virginia scenes were actual residents who were pained and affected by the real-life chemical contamination described in the story. • Mark Ruffalo, a pained environmental activist in his own right, was the driving force behind getting the film made, seeing it as a visceral way to bring the DuPont scandal to a wider audience. THE VIBE Like a cold glass of water you’re afraid to drink. It smells of old paper files, damp earth, and the metallic tang of an industrial chemical plant.

Videos

DARK WATERS | Official Trailer | In Theaters November 22

Cast

Tim Robbins

Mark Ruffalo

Anne Hathaway

Bill Camp

Victor Garber

Bill Pullman

Mare Winningham

William Jackson Harper

Louisa Krause

Kevin Crowley

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Dark Waters

Comment (1)

Insomniacs Reviews
- 1 May 2026 at 10:02 AM

⭐ Insomniacs Rating: 8/10

THE SUMMARY
Robert Bilott (Mark Ruffalo) is a corporate defense attorney who has spent his career protecting big chemical companies. That changes when a desperate farmer from West Virginia, a connection from his grandmother, shows him a pained reality: his cattle are dying, and the land is poisoned. As Robert digs deeper, he uncovers a gritty secret that one of the world’s largest corporations has been hiding for decades. It’s a visceral, David-vs-Goliath legal thriller that follows one man’s pained obsession to expose a global conspiracy that has contaminated the very water we drink.

THE PROS
Mark Ruffalo is the honest anchor of this film, delivering a pained, stoic performance that perfectly captures the toll of a decades-long legal battle. It hits an 8 because the story is told with a cold, clinical precision that makes the horror of the reality feel even more visceral. The script avoids flashy courtroom theatrics for a gritty, step-by-step look at how corporate greed can quietly dismantle a community. Anne Hathaway and Tim Robbins provide punchy supporting turns that ground the pained stakes of Robert’s mission. It’s an epic achievement in investigative storytelling, making a complex environmental case feel as tense as any high-stakes heist movie.

THE CONS
It stays at an 8 because the slow-burn pacing is a massive commitment; the film spans years of legal deadlocks, which might feel a touch repetitive for some. It misses a higher mark because the lighting and color palette are intentionally drab and grey to match the pained tone, which can make the nearly two-hour runtime feel a bit draining. While the story is an honest belter, it follows a fairly traditional “crusading lawyer” blueprint that doesn’t offer many narrative surprises, even if the real-life facts are a massive head-scratcher.

THE VERDICT
8/10. A gritty, pained, and incredibly important piece of cinema. It’s a fair shout for the most sobering thriller of its year and an honest reminder of why we need people like Bilott in the world.

INSOMNIAC TRIVIA
• The film is based on the New York Times Magazine article ‘The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare,’ and the real Robert Bilott and his wife Sarah were sincere consultants throughout the production.

• To keep the film feeling honest, many of the extras in the West Virginia scenes were actual residents who were pained and affected by the real-life chemical contamination described in the story.

• Mark Ruffalo, a pained environmental activist in his own right, was the driving force behind getting the film made, seeing it as a visceral way to bring the DuPont scandal to a wider audience.

THE VIBE
Like a cold glass of water you’re afraid to drink. It smells of old paper files, damp earth, and the metallic tang of an industrial chemical plant.

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