Caught an advanced screening of this last night, one night after seeing The Report, which made for an interesting "double feature." Both films are similar, man-against-the-system stories, in which a David becomes so obsessed with taking down Goliath - over a period of years and years - that it begins to affect his personal life in potentially dire ways while being prone to all kinds of "You're working too much" sentiments from family and co-workers. It's a story we've seen a thousand times before, but both films are still quite effective, each with their own strengths. Dark Waters is definitely the moodier of the two, with better cinematography, and is probably a bit more emotional. But it also features some awkward overacting at times, and leans a little too heavily on the stay-at-home wife nagging the obsessed/on-a-mission husband. I'm honestly surprised Hathaway took this role, as it's pretty standard stuff. But overall, this is a harrowing (though somewhat subdued), well-executed story. What it does best, by the end, is really make you feel how unbeatable a juggernaut like Dupont is, and gives you a sense of the immense toll it takes to put even the smallest (but significant) of dents in their facade. This won't win any awards, and isn't required theater viewing by any means, but it's worth checking out at some point if you get the chance.

Dark Waters hits NY & LA this weekend, then goes wide on December 6th...