Today I watched Mark Ruffalo 's new film "Black Water", and it was terrifying . It is not a horror film, but it is better than a horror film, because the pollution involved in the film still exists today. Uncle Mark plays a lot like the Big Mouth Sister in "Never Compromise" (Erin Brockovich), challenging big companies for the threats many people face. However, the difference is that the lawyer starred by Uncle Mark has not yet completed his work. He has been struggling for 20 years, and the problems he faces seem to be even more difficult.
This film is based on the article "The Lawyer Who Became DuPont's Worst Nightmare" published by Nathaniel Rich in the "New York Times" and revolves around the lawyer Robert Billot starred by Uncle Mark. In order that the people on the land where he lives are no longer threatened by sewage, he filed an environmental lawsuit against the chemical giant DuPont on behalf of a farmer. This lawsuit exposes the history of DuPont's chemical pollution for decades.
If you check the news now, you will find that this story has only been widely reported since 2017. Last year there was also a documentary "The Devil WeKnow" (The Devil WeKnow) which also described the crimes that DuPont had been hiding and the production of this factory. The waste caused by the number of people suffering from cancer and giving birth to children with disabilities. This film tells you that the promoters behind this struggle have actually begun investigations 20 years ago, but they have never attracted enough attention from the society.
The problem was discovered 20 years ago, but over the years, Uncle Mark’s lawyers and many people have struggled to find all kinds of evidence, and even collected blood samples of tens of thousands of local people, but they failed to bring down DuPont. Finally, in 2017, people saw the test results, which confirmed that the water of the local people was contaminated, and some supplies produced by DuPont were also poisonous. For example, since 1945, they have launched the Teflon brand, non-stick pans with Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene) coating. When producing Teflon coating, it is necessary to add the active agents PFOS and PFOA. Among them, PFOA, also known as C8, is toxic to the human body and can cause cancer and infant deformities. Especially people who are exposed to these chemicals during the production of non-stick pans are most likely to be affected. Among them, the remaining child of an employee of the company has a deformed face, similar to the little boy in the "Miracle Boy" we have seen.
But because DuPont is very strong, they just made a lot of settlements and compensations, and they didn't receive the punishment they deserved. Although PFOA has been banned in recent years, the things produced with it have spread all over the world in the past few years, and many people have been contaminated invisibly without knowing it.
The lawyer's deeds are very moving, but the main purpose of this kind of film shooting is to let more people know the potential dangers in life, and let the audience do more research and learn more about the stories behind them when they go home. The film also proves how difficult it is to overthrow these big groups that sacrifice people's health for profit. As with many previous investigative films, in order to be able to fight against powerful people, the cooperation of the media and law enforcement agencies is often needed, and what is ultimately required is that the supervisor of the investigator must work hard to continue the development of the incident. The boss in this film is the long-awaited Tim Robbins. Another partner lawyer is also the long-awaited actor Bill Pullman. Anne Hathaway played the role of Uncle Mark's wife, mainly to show the pressure that the lawyer brought to his family when confronted by a large company.
The same is true for another movie with a similar theme this year, "The Report", except that the subject of investigation is the CIA, and the subordinates have received the support of their superiors to finally complete this dangerous task. As well as the previous Oscar best film "Spotlight" (Spotlight). These films all show that integrity and principled leadership are really important. Otherwise, no matter how hard the little guy works, it will be useless.
Apart from being the Hulk, Uncle Mark likes to participate in investigative films adapted from real events. From reporters to detectives to lawyers, he has acted and brought many little-known real deeds to the audience. Uncle Mark himself is also an environmental protection activist. He usually pays attention to issues related to environmental protection and current affairs and exerts the influence of public figures.
It's just that this role is not as dramatic and interesting as Erin Brockovich, the big-mouthed sister. He is really a very ordinary person, and the investigation process is relatively boring, so there is not much space to show off his acting skills. But the story is still worth seeing, and it comes at the right time. The evidence is clearer in all aspects. Many participants are still alive, which can give the story more evidence to be found.
Anyway, after reading it, I really don’t want to use a non-stick pan
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