2019   Focus Features

Rated:  PG-13

Length:  2 hrs  7min

Drama ~ Thriller ~ True Story

Directed By:  Todd Haynes

Starring:  Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, and Tim Robbins.

“The system is rigged. They want us to believe that it’ll protect us, but that’s a lie. We protect us. We do. Nobody else. Not the companies, not the scientists, not the government. Us.”

Mark Ruffalo stars in the real life story of corporate defense attorney Rob Bilott who takes on Dupont after discovering it has a long hushed-up history of illegally polluting local populations and land with toxic chemical waste. Anne Hathaway plays his wife Sarah Barlage Bilott.

Reminded me of “Erin Brockovich” in that it is a similar true life story of big corporations getting caught polluting the environment and being held accountable.

Rob Bilott finds out from his grandmother’s farmer neighbor that there might be wrong-doing on the part of Dupont after his cows start dying. After starting to ask questions he quickly puts two and two together and realizes that Dupont has been shamelessly dumping toxic waste and trying to cover it up with little to no regard for human lives affected.

And so ensues a decades long fight to bring Dupont to accountability. Mark Ruffalo and Anne Hathaway did an excellent job of portraying the toll that tenaciousness took on their family and lives. The manner in which Dupont tries to ignore, cover-up and humiliate those affected is downright nauseating. Shameful. Arrogant Corporate greed without regard for human life all in the name of profit.

There were a lot of real life affected people and families who portrayed themselves in this movie. Most notably Bucky Bailey, born with facial defects as a result of DuPont’s poisoning and negligence has a cameo at a gas station with Mark Ruffalo about the 1:51 mark.  Great job to all the actors and thank God for people like Rob Bilott who have stood up to the greedy corporations to hold them accountable. Where is the honor in doing business? Where is their honor as an American? As a fellow human being?

Excellent movie.

Two thumbs up!