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Life Through the Lens: Forever chemicals and consequences

“The system is rigged! They want us to think it’ll protect us. We protect us! We do!”

***

A modern, Mid-Ohio Valley retelling of “The Good Samaritan”:

One day… let’s call it a Tuesday… one day there was a farmer. He was a poor Parkersburg farmer. All he had was his farm, his family, and his community. And it was enough, daggonit.

It was enough UNTIL he had to travel a difficult road alone. A road fraught with peril. A road full of robbers and swindlers. A road unfamiliar and uncompromising. This road is the “Road of Corporate America.” This road has, for centuries, chewed up little-guys like him and spit them out (because little-guys are undigestible, obviously).

He did not choose this road — it was forced upon him: his cows (his livelihood) are dying. One after another, they’re getting sick, going crazy, and dropping dead. Their insides are swelling; their teeth are rotting; this is not natural, and it is beyond explanation. The only thing that has changed for this poor farmer is the property next door. A chemical company called DuPont has a dumping ground over there… and that spot just doesn’t seem right. DuPont’s appearance and the disappearance of the cows cannot be a coincidence. If the cows are being poisoned, what (or who) is next?

Enter: dangerous road. As the poor farmer ventures further down “the road,” the mistreatment increases. He is ignored or dissuaded by the local law, too afraid of the local powerhouse DuPont. He is stalled or threatened by bigwigs. He is pressured or harassed by his community. This poor farmer is now without his farm, scared for his family’s health and wellbeing, and ostracized by his community. After helicopter surveillance, breaking and entering, marked physical disintegration, and public humiliation, this poor farmer is left for dead on “the road.”

Religion happened to walk by and see this poor farmer in need. He saw the poor-farmer’s turmoil… but he also saw the unpredictability. He saw the dissention. He saw the paranoia. He saw the backlash… so, despite his duty to the hurting, he passed by on the other side.

Politics happened to walk by and see this poor farmer in need. He saw the poor farmer’s unrest… but he also saw the profit loss. He saw the support withdrawn. He saw the power removed. He saw the position crumble… so, despite his responsibility to the oppressed, he passed by on the other side.

Along came the worst of the worst: Corporate Defense Lawyer. This guy had made a living defending the big guys, the money, the Goliaths. It was his job to assist in the chewing and the spitting of those little guys mentioned earlier… and he was good at it! As Lawyer passed this poor farmer, poor farmer let out a barely audible “Help me.” Although trained to squash weakness, this whispered whimper was enough to produce pity in Lawyer. He went to the poor farmer and attempted to bandage his wounds of calculated mistreatment and systematical-cruelty.

Lawyer carried the poor farmer on his own shoulders, his own time and reputation. He gave of himself with no expectation of return. He gave of himself because it was the right thing to do. He told the poor farmer, “I will not sleep on your suffering. I will not abandon you in your abuse. I will see this through to the end… no matter the personal consequence.”

Now I ask you: who is this poor farmer’s neighbor? Who is to his benefit? It isn’t organizations, positions, or presidents. It is a man helping a man. It is one flawed individual helping another. Help would never have come if one man wasn’t stirred to sympathy and determined to make a difference. One man.

***

This is a tricky movie to review. One part of me feels a desperation, an urgency: I LIVE IN PARKERSBURG, WEST (BY GOLLY) VIRGINIA… the very setting of this film! The other part of me, the film-critic part, desires to see it purely as cinema. Since I am torn between two opinions, I will give each their turn to speak.

It is an out-of-body experience to watch this movie in Parkersburg, when time after time they say the name “Parkersburg, W.Va.” It is surreal, to say the least. Although most of the shots are not filmed here, there are a few shots here among our streets and neighborhoods. I was fearful of Hollywood’s perception of us mountain-folk… but it wasn’t too-goofy or offensive. Our city wasn’t shown as spotless but achieved some redemption along the way.

Although I hail from central Ohio, my friend who sat next to me in the theater is Belpre-born. He experienced the full force of this story: along with public scares, blood screenings, and general outrage, he is now loving on a father with kidney cancer. My friend is invested in this all-too-real story of our area and its shadowy secrets.

For the sheer novelty alone, all Parkersburg-area residents should see this movie. The story is personal, the action is local… and they say our name! “Look, mom! I’m on TV!”

Now for the film critic part (done with an amateur British accent for sophistication): the movie is not that great. The story is timely and rather haunting, but the production itself is rather flat… dare I say “shallow.” Director Todd Haynes seems to be dead set on telling the story as an article instead of a visual piece of art: it is dry, slow, and lacks artistic style. He may not have missed any details… but he seems to have missed many opportunities.

Mark Ruffalo plays Robert Bilott, the sacrificial lawyer. His approach is understandable but lacks power, all curves with no sharp edge. Anne Hathaway (as Robert’s wife Sarah) is unnecessarily weepy; I found her performance to be out of place. Tim Robbins (as Robert’s boss Tom Terp) is a bit wonky, without shape altogether. Bill Camp (as Wilbur Tennant, the poor farmer) is believable and approaching honesty… but still returns to a caricature frequently.

***

REPORT CARD: Dark Waters

(Resident) Grade: A

Comment: Sheds light and provides clarity

(Critic) Grade: C

Comment: The “Dark Waters” run shallow

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