DARK WATERS

Mark Ruffalo     Anne Hathaway     Tim Robbins     Bill Camp     Bill Pullman     Victor Garber

     Robert Bilott (Ruffalo) is a promising young attorney who has just made partner in a respected corporate law firm.  He has a number of key supporters as a result of his work defending chemical companies, who believe he will distinguish himself (and them) because of his deliberateness and passion for the law.  He will indeed live up to this faith, although not in the way his supporters think.

     Soon after starting this phase of his career, Rob is personally visited in his office by a West Virginia farmer, Wilbur Tennant (Camp), wanting representation. He has been referred by his neighbor, Rob’s beloved grandmother.  Rob patiently explains that he is a civil lawyer and not likely to serve the client well.  Tennant leaves in a huff, feeling that all his antagonism toward authorities is justified.  

     But Rob is conscientious, and visits his grandmother for more information. She reminds him that as a boy he used to go to the Tennants’ farm every summer (to swim and learn to milk cows!) and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Rob does a bit more investigation, looking at a landfill near the farm, and being shown by Tennant some of the devastation, which he thinks is perpetrated by the DuPont company (DuPont de Nemours, as they prefer to be called).  

     After doing more research into the company and getting the EPA reports, it begins to dawn on Rob that there is something to investigate (like water and air contamination, as well as animal/human organ damage.  The Tennants do not have the money to hire him, so he discusses with his boss Tom Terp (Robbins) the possibility of taking on pro bono what they foresee as a short-term project.  Terp reluctantly agrees on the basis that it will promote the Taft Law Firm’s good name.

     What is in store for them is (literally!) mountains of data for Rob to go through, unsatisfying responses from the DuPont company to his inquiries, and later on, major resistance and obstruction as a defense by DuPont, despite ever-mounting evidence against them.

     I wish I could describe to you a heroic story in which legal and political action made a decisive difference.  Although I cannot, I nevertheless urge the public to see this film (updated/extended from the Erin Brockovich) for its application to contemporary environmental and political concerns.  It’s a bit like a detective story that must accumulate data over a long period of time, and becomes a drama that is all too familiar today.

     Mark Ruffalo does an exemplary job portraying a man trying to overcome a compromised history by committing himself to helping the disadvantaged.  This comes at a cost, and we see his, his wife’s (Hathaway) and their family’s sacrifices.  Noteworthy (and perhaps award-worthy) is Bill Camp’s performance in playing a West Virginia farmer who is astute but not given credit for it by virtue of his accent, his class, and where he is from geographically (West Virginia). He successively endears others, and distances them because of his extreme (but well justified) anger. He is a significant supporting actor.

     Todd Haynes continues to surprise with his explorations into varying subjects and he and cinematographer Edward Lachman’s foray into innovative techniques in Wonderstruck, Far from Heaven, Carol, and this film, show their abilities to portray the poetic as well as the meaningful in their joint works.  I want to give a shout-out to composer Marcelo Zarvos, whose music has a paradoxical effect of being soft and lyrical, but with ominous overtones, even from the beginning.  Those tones let you know this will not be a romp through the park.  

     The movie gets into substantive issues relevant today about environmental concerns, corporate power, and the costs of social advocacy, while engaging you emotionally into the drama.

Dark Waters turn out to be toxic.

Grade:  B+                                    By Donna R. Copeland

LBJ

Woody Harrelson     Jennifer Jason Leigh     Bill Pullman     Richard Jenkins

Jeffrey Donovan     Michael Stahl-David     Michael Mosley

     Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36^th President of the United States is credited with furthering legislation on civil rights, gun control, wilderness preservation, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security, aid to education, the arts, and public services.  It is clearly an impressive record achieved primarily because he was an expert in the “art of the deal”, and had an uncanny ability to know where to compromise and where to stand firm.  Yet, he is not generally regarded as a great President, and is associated more with the Viet Nam War than any social programs.  The LBJ documentary addresses this conundrum at least partially.

     Johnson was very wise, and although he smacked of narcissism, he was a brilliant strategist while he was Speaker of the House of Representatives, Vice President, and President.  He knew that after President Kennedy’s assassination, the country would be receptive to continuing a “martyr’s” agenda soon after his death.  Johnson understood the “strike while the iron is hot” element, and not only brought the country along on his plan, but some of Kennedy’s staff as well. 

     The movie begins with the Kennedys and Johnsons arriving in Dallas on the fateful day President Kennedy was shot.  Thereafter, it cuts back and forth between the events that happened there, and the political process in Washington, both before and after the assassination.  (This is another film that rejects chronological order, the purpose of which is not clear, and which seems to me to be a fad among Hollywood filmmakers, which annoys me.)

     The political process is much more interesting, primarily because we’ve seen the Dallas footage so many times.  The fascinating part of the political process portrayed here is in showing how effective Lyndon Johnson was in using compromise, negotiation, and downright arm-twisting (and “pecker” threats) to get opposing sides to work together.  Based on the film, John Kennedy was largely supportive, but his brother Robert despised Johnson and attempted to thwart him at every turn.  He doesn’t come across looking very well in this film.

     A strong point of LBJ, directed by Rob Reiner, is its honing in on Johnson’s personality—his confidence on the one hand and his insecurities on the other—and his strategic thinking.  His attitude toward Kennedy was one of respect, and some degree of awe.  “I’ve never seen a politician look that good on TV”, he comments to his devoted wife Lady Bird.  He observed that Kennedy was more a “show horse”, whereas he, Lyndon was a “work horse”, and clearly in the beginning he valued the latter more.  Across time, however, he grudgingly admired how much Kennedy’s appearance and charisma helped him achieve the popularity he had, and he held him in great respect. 

     The somewhat surprising casting has Woody Harrelson playing LBJ and Jennifer Jason Leigh as Lady Bird.  Harrelson’s Texas accent comes in handy, because despite heavy make-up, Woody doesn’t resemble LBJ that much, but his good acting skills are of considerable help in our seeing him as Johnson.  Leigh does a wonderful job portraying Lady Bird’s devotion and sage advice, and the chemistry between the two actors makes their relationship convincing.  Jeffrey Donovan as JFK and Michael Stahl-David as RFK manage the Boston accents perfectly, and capture the differing personalities of each very well.  Richard Jenkins plays Johnson’s old mentor, Senator Richard Russell, with the considerable talent he always shows, and comes across well as a Southerner who would almost rather die than give in to civil rights advocates.

     I found this movie interesting even though much of the content is not new; but it was good to be reminded of LBJ’s assets, since he could be so off-putting when he was being crude.  Unfortunately for him, a Texas accent has more often been made fun of rather than admired, and that likely worked against him as well.

The power behind a strong political figure toward whom Americans showed considerable ambivalence.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

BATTLE OF THE SEXES

Emma Stone     Steve Carell     Andrea Riseborough     Sarah Silverman     Bill Pullman     Alan Cumming     Elisabeth Shue

      This was a full-blown battle, made more public by the macho boasting of Bobby Riggs for weeks beforehand.  It was a contest with a winner-take-all prize of $100,000.  By the time the match between him and Billie Jean King took place, they had an audience of 50 million in the U.S. and 90 million worldwide, with 30,472 present in the Houston Astrodome.  King was passionate in proving that women’s tennis was just as important/entertaining/professional as men’s, and that they should be paid the same.  Male chauvinism was common in the 1970’s, so men were aghast that women should expect such a thing, saying men were stronger, faster, and better than women who were weaker and “couldn’t stand the pressure.” 

     All this seemed to spur King on even more; she was still stinging from Jack Kramer’s (a former tennis star and radio commentator, smoothly played by Bill Pullman) banning women from a major tournament when they demanded to be paid on the same scale as the men.  Later, when Riggs and ABC wanted Jack to be the commentator for the Riggs/King match, King protested, and threatened to withdraw from the contest unless they hired someone else, reasoning that Jack did not believe in women’s tennis.  “Either he goes—or I go.”  She got her way.

     The match is filmed extremely well by cinematographer Linus Sandgren, starting out slower so each lob is carefully shown, and gradually speeding it up to real time, and the music is well chosen by Nicholas Britell.  With a filmography that includes movies about Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., and Smashing Pumpkins, the directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris likely had some informed input for the music as well.  Although I enjoyed the music immensely, it was often too loud for my ears, overpowering the drama and dialog.

     Emma Stone and Steve Carell demonstrate their considerable talent in portraying two colorful characters.  Carell’s Bobby is as obnoxious and full of himself as he is supposed to be, which is in stark contrast to Carell as I’ve seen him in real life.  I was especially moved by King as she is shown in the film and beautifully exemplified by Stone; always dignified, magnanimous enough to initiate the arms-around-the-shoulders exit at the end of the match, and keeping her cool amidst rude taunts and tense negotiations. 

     There were a couple of scenes that made me shake my head (a last-minute hair fix just before the major event and Billie Jean King by herself at the end of the match), and sure enough, these seem to be Hollywood elaborations on the real story.  They are unnecessary veneers to a story that is already sufficient in itself.

Battle of the Sexes exemplifies the ongoing struggle between males and females, but in an entertaining manner.

Grade:  B                                    By Donna R. Copeland

WALKING OUT

Matt Bomer     Bill Pullman     Josh Wiggins     Lily Gladstone

      Father-son bonding movies are usually well received, especially when they occur after a period of estrangement.  It’s clear when David (Wiggins) arrives at the airport on a snowy day in Montana that he is a bit uneasy.  His father Cal (Bomer) doesn’t seem to notice; he is much more enthusiastic about the visit and seeing his son.  He tells David excitedly about his plan to take him moose hunting, and just maybe David will get his first moose.  This was a milestone in Cal’s own life, which he relates to his son, reminiscing about the time he spent with his own father.  The spoken memories are enhanced by showing videos of him as a youngster (played by Alex Neustaedter) with his dad (Pullman). 

     We eventually learn that David lives with his mother in another state; she couldn’t take the Montana weather, and left his father.  Cal’s ties to the land (and he owns a large parcel) are so strong, he couldn’t possibly think of living anywhere else.  David is clearly from the city, and knows little about what most boys from the country learn in terms of skills in camping, hunting, fishing, etc.  Not only that, he appears to be rather reluctant to go on a hunting trip and would rather play games on his telephone.  He’s a bit squeamish about killing animals anyway.  When Cal realizes this, he is sorely disappointed, but gives David the choice of not going.  Of course, that’s accompanied by the threat of sending him back to his mother and the knowledge that he has let his dad down.  This gets through to David in a flash, and he decides he’d rather go hunting.

     Eventually, Cal lets go of his macho front and becomes a very good teacher on hunting in the wild, such as what to do if a bear starts chasing you, and how hunting is different from killing an animal for anything other than food.  He accompanies this with his childhood stories, which David seems eager to hear.  The meat of the film is when two life-threatening incidents occur, and we see how the bond between the two has become strong enough to support them during the rest of the trip.

     It’s a coming-of-age story for David who will never be the same afterwards.  Usually, I want movies to be shorter rather than longer, but I wish this one had shown more about David’s transformation and his reunion with his mother.  Nevertheless, it’s a skillful rendering of father-son bonding in the wilds of the breathtaking snowy landscape of Montana.

     Bomer and Wiggins capture the father-son relationship so well, and the backdrop of Montana in the winter (Cinematographer Tood McMullen) is exquisite.  In this age of serial relationships among adults, I wonder about if many teenagers would find this story helpful in identifying and bonding with their fathers.  I also applaud the filmmakers for not shying away from depicting a very sensitive subject.

An unnerving and heartfelt bonding of father and son hunting moose in the wilds of snowy Montana.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland

THE BALLAD OF LEFTY BROWN

Bill Pullman     Jim Caviezal     Tommy Flanagan     Kathy Baker     Peter Fonda     Diego Josef

     After years of being overshadowed by his friends and considered to be a little dim, Lefty (Bill Pullman) is being left in charge of his life-long friend Eddie’s (Fonda) ranch in Montana.  He is intimidated by the prospect, and tries to refuse, but Eddie insists, and gives him what looks like his own very special gun.  Eddie is on his way to the Senate in Washington, D.C.  His wife Laura (Baker) is not happy at all about Lefty being in charge, and also tries to talk her husband out of it.  Just before they’re scheduled to leave, though, ranch hands notify Eddie that three of his horses have been stolen.  Not heeding his wife’s pleas to take a crew of men with him, he takes off with only Lefty to pursue the thieves.  There is a tragedy, and Lefty is determined to avenge his old friend, despite seeing himself as “a man who never got anything right in 60-odd years.”

     What follows is in the tradition of westerns in general, when individual citizens take it upon themselves to mete out justice however they see fit.  There is some talk of legal trials and judges, but it’s often only given lip service.  On the contrary a man might be hanged on the spot after a few decide he’s guilty.  One of the reasons Lefty doesn’t quite fit into the community is that he seems to be a pacifist.  He works very hard not to kill someone he’s captured—a rather odd motif in a western movie.  This offsets to some extent my revulsion in seeing the ubiquitous gun-toting cowpokes take matters in their own hands, especially when at one point people have decided that Lefty himself has committed a major crime. 

     Four men in town have been friends for many years.  Jimmy is the governor of the state; Eddie is a highly respected rancher with Lefty as his sidekick, and Tom is the U.S. Marshal.  The drama has twists and turns, shoot-outs, and a young man showing up with romantic notions of the wild west and burning to be a part of it.  Lefty’s good nature is apparent in his finally relenting to mentor Jeremiah and allow him in the group.  In the end, a major plot is uncovered which is shocking to all involved.

     Pullman is the heart of this film and artfully portrays his character as layered; on the surface, just a simple man, but having much more wit and sensibility than he is given credit for.  Some of his best is when he is telling western stories to the young Jeremiah.  Lefty seems always to have been in the shadow of his more dominant friends.  Jim Caviezal’s character is likewise an interesting inclusion into a western as a suave, literature quoting mannered man.  He, too, seems out of place in such a town, like Lefty, although for a different reason.  Tommy Flanagan and Kathy Baker deftly play characters who are not so admirable or thoughtful.  A refreshing part of the story is Diego Josef’s character, Jeremiah, who is earnest and a typical teenager just learning the way of the world and eager to make his mark.  I wish more of his story had been included; we’re never informed about why he is out in the wild on his own with no horse after his got bitten by a snake and had to be put down.

     Writer/director/producer Jared Moshe’s background is primarily as a producer, but his Ballad is engaging, beautifully filmed (David McFarland, cinematographer), and has a few twists in what is basically a traditional western. 

A ballad for a man who finds himself later in life and can be proud of what he proves.

Grade:  C                                    By Donna R. Copeland