Dark Waters (2019)
94%RT Audience Score: 95%
Awards & Nominations: 10 nominations
Dark Waters powerfully relays a real-life tale of infuriating malfeasance, honoring the victims and laying blame squarely at the feet of the perpetrators.
Dark Waters is like a horror movie, but instead of a monster, it’s capitalism that’s the villain. Mark Ruffalo gives a great performance as the hero fighting against a corrupt corporation, and the film does a good job of showing how difficult it can be to do the right thing in a society that values profit over people. It’s not the most uplifting movie, but it’s an important one that will make you think twice about what’s really going on behind the scenes of big businesses. Plus, who doesn’t love a good underdog story?
Production Company(ies)
Participant Willi Hill Killer Content
Distributor
Focus Features
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited), Theatrical (Wide)
Filming Location(s)
Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for thematic content, some disturbing images and strong language
Year of Release
2019
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 6m
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Language(s):English, Korean
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 6, 2019 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 22, 2019
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
Dark Waters, PG-13, drama, 2h 6m, Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, Tim Robbins, Bill Camp, Victor Garber, Mare Winningham, directed by Todd Haynes, written by Mario Correa and Matthew Michael Carnahan, produced by Mark Ruffalo, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler, box office gross $11.1M, reviewed by Kambole Campbell, Wenlei Ma, Bilge Ebiri, Sandra Hall, Kevin Maher, David Stratton, Dan Bayer, Brian Eggert, Taylor Baker, Kip Mooney, Hosea Rupprecht, PG-13 rating, Focus Features, real-life tale, attorney, dark secret, unexplained deaths, largest corporations, expose the truth, risking future, family, life, strong language, disturbing images, thematic content, environmental thriller, capitalism, corruption, toxic chemicals, DuPont, Cincinnati Corporate Attorney, investigation, 20 years, Erin Brockovich, corporate greed, cover-ups, lives left in the balance, defeated, hunched over workaholic, wife, hard working citizens, low key characterizations, righteous anger, system, safety, well-being, Great Camp
Worldwide gross: $23,108,017
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $26,700,263
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,588
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 2,911,697
US/Canada gross: $11,136,084
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $12,867,239
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,542
US/Canada opening weekend: $102,606
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $118,557
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,875
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Anne Hathaway – Sarah Bilott
Tim Robbins – Tom Terp
Bill Camp – Wilbur Tennant
Victor Garber – Phil Donnelly
Mare Winningham – Darlene Kiger
Director(s)
Todd Haynes
Writer(s)
Mario Correa, Matthew Michael Carnahan
Producer(s)
Mark Ruffalo, Christine Vachon, Pamela Koffler
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
10 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (232) | Top Critics (52) | Fresh (207) | Rotten (25)
A tale of the horrors caused by capitalism and how it empowers people into other avenues of corruption…
June 10, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Kambole Campbell
NME
TOP CRITIC
Dark Waters is as gripping as it is terrifying, and it’ll claw into your consciousness in the same way that poisonous forever chemicals have claimed squatter’s rights in your body.
April 6, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Wenlei Ma
News.com.au
TOP CRITIC
…by focusing on the individuals involved, and laying out a compelling moral vision, Dark Waters also works as a powerful metaphor for those cases when persistence and compassion have pushed society forward.
March 20, 2020
Bilge Ebiri
Spirituality & Health
TOP CRITIC
The groundswell of dogged determination propelling this environmental thriller is so powerful that it deals effortlessly with the knotty tangle of facts packed into its plot. Much of this is down to the film’s star and initiator, Mark Ruffalo.
March 4, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Sandra Hall
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
The subject deserved better.
March 3, 2020 | Rating: 2/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Ruffalo’s performance alone is worth the price of a ticket…
March 3, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4
David Stratton
The Australian
TOP CRITIC
You come to see Mark Ruffalo speechify against a large company doing Very Bad Things, and you get exactly that. Nothing more, nothing less.
May 13, 2022 | Rating: 7/10
Dan Bayer
Next Best Picture
The most successful part of Dark Waters is how it portrays American society as one that fears doing the right thing because of the repercussions, while it’s far easier just to keep quiet, blissfully unaware, and toe the line.
February 23, 2022 | Rating: 3/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
This is one of the first films in a long time that feels genuinely “important” in a non-partisan and unbiased way.
January 14, 2022 | Rating: 90/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
Grim but engaging.
August 12, 2021 | Rating: B+
Kip Mooney
College Movie Review
Dark Waters calls upon all of us to do what’s right to help those around us even if that causes discomfort and suffering.
August 12, 2021
Hosea Rupprecht
Pauline Center for Media Studies
How a screenplay this shoddy makes it to one of our greatest film-makers unmolested I can’t fathom, but it’s poisoned from the bottom up — knee deep cliches sanded clean of substance
July 14, 2021
Jason Adams
My New Plaid Pants…
Plot
A corporate defense attorney takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company that exposes a lengthy history of pollution.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Bill Camp’s performance as Wilbur Tennant in Dark Waters is described as “magnificent” by one critic.
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