A DARK TRUTH (Damian Lee). 106 minutes. Some subtitles. Opens Friday (January 11). See times. Rating: NN
A Dark Truth’s heart is in the right place, but good intentions unfortunately do not always make for good art.
In Ecuador, a Canadian-owned water purification company has hired its own militia to wage an all-out war against villagers protesting the company’s purchase of their water supply.
When she learns of the slaughter of an entire town, guilt-ridden CEO Morgan (Deborah Kara Unger) hires ex-CIA agent Jack (Andy Garcia) to travel to South America to find witnesses, preferably the resisters’ leader, Francisco (Forest Whitaker), to expose the corruption.
Her brother and co-CEO (Kim Coates), desperate to protect an upcoming deal with South Africa, hires a hit man to make sure Jack and Morgan don’t succeed.
Writer/director Damian Lee’s hamfisted script alternates between preposterous shootouts – our ex-CIA hero takes out a whole squadron on his own – and philosophical mumblings by Jack, now host of a radio talk show, and Francisco, who’s ready to renounce violence.
There’s enough waste here to cram a landfill: good actors, a decent budget and a political issue that deserves attention. In this war of good versus evil – there’s no in-between in this pic – the clichés win.
