A Universal Picture, Written by Mario Correa, Matthew Michael Carnahan, Directed by Todd Haynes.
This is a film that unfortunately got lost in the awards race last year, but deserved much more, because it is an incredibly stirring story about one of the greatest (and least known about) scandal’s in human history.
The scale of the human and environmental tragedy this scandal caused is impossible to even comprehend, and it’s shocking more people do not know about it.
Director Todd Haynes tells this story in a very procedural manner which works to highlight the struggle this case caused and allows the audience to properly understand what is happening at all times, but this lack of visual and narrative flair may have been something of a factor to why it didn’t feature more in last seasons awards race.
It features a brilliantly restrained and thoughtful performance from Mark Ruffalo, an actor who many now take for granted since his MCU work, but who consistently turns in strong performances in films like this.
He is ably backed up by a powerful and underrated supporting turn from Oscar winner Anne Hathaway, and Tim Robbins also shines when he is able to let loose.
The most important thing this film does is shine a light on this scandal for people to see, and allow them to appreciate what heroes like Rob Bilott are doing on a daily basis.
Rating = 4/5
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