In "Dark Waters", Todd Haynes denounces a health scandal

In the last film of the American director, Todd Haynes, he tells the legal battle against the industrial group DuPont launched by the lawyer Robert Bilott. STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP

Text by: RFI Follow

Director Todd Haynes' film "Dark Waters" is coming to French screens this week. Inspired by real facts, the film recounts the fight of lawyer Robert Bilott against DuPont, one of the largest industrial chemical groups.

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In Dark Waters , the DuPont company is condemned by the American justice system for fueling large-scale water pollution in West Virginia and poisoning small-scale cattle, residents and employees. It is a film which is reminiscent of Erin Brokovich , the story of this mother who revealed a case of water pollution in California.

Robert Bilott is a lawyer specializing in the defense of the chemical industries, but he changes sides when he discovers that his childhood campaign is poisoned by a factory of the powerful chemical group DuPont. In question, a synthetic molecule called PFOA, carcinogenic and endocrine disruptor, long used in the manufacture of non-stick frying pans.

A 20 year long legal battle

With meticulous documentary work, Todd Haynes produces a brilliant investigative thriller driven by the interpretation of Mark Ruffalo. The actor and environmental activist subtly embodies this role of whistleblower caught between his modest origins and his new life as a business lawyer. Bathing in a bluish atmosphere, the film is a plunge into the murky waters of a corrupt and unscrupulous capitalism.

Located in the pure tradition of the film of denunciation, this umpteenth variation on the theme of David against Goliath certainly has the air of deja-vu, but the implacable staging of Todd Haynes manages to give a striking relief to the two decades of this incredible judicial battle.

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