Minamata

Emphasizing the power of a photograph to tell a great story, Minamata shines a worthwhile spotlight on a harrowing true-life environmental calamity.

However, this evocative historical drama about the effects of water pollution on a Japanese fishing town during the early 1970s tends to downplay the victims facing injustice and deadly illness in favor of an American seeking personal redemption.

On the surface, Gene Smith (Johnny Depp) is the type of pompous intellectual creative we’ve seen before — swimming in alcohol and living in reclusive poverty supposedly to preserve his artistic integrity, with a beret for good measure — whose malaise is triggered mostly by self-loathing.

He works most often as a freelance photographer for Life magazine, where he sneers at an editor (Bill Nighy) who tolerates Gene for his talent. Nevertheless, each assignment comes with trepidation and excuses about adhering to deadlines and protocols.

His next assignment comes via Aileen (Minami), a Japanese woman who use clandestine means to seek out Gene, tell him about the atrocities in Minamata, and insist they need him to share their secret with the world. Editorial approval follows.

It turns out Aileen has a personal stake in the fight against a factory dumping toxic chemicals into the local water supply, causing deformities and worse primarily in children. Emboldened by an indifferent government, company executives refuse to even admit wrongdoing, let alone compensate their neighbors.

Upon arrival overseas, he’s forced to soften his temperamental edges and confront troubling incidents from his past, the details of which are gradually revealed. “I should have known better, coming here,” he mutters to himself.

The screenplay co-written by director Andrew Levitas (Lullaby) doesn’t provide much fresh insight into the life of a photojournalist, either through his work or the psychological toll it can take.

Plus, the film makes it difficult to sympathize with such a prickly character, even if Depp’s performance is convincing. Despite his neuroses and personal shortcomings, he remains steadfastly dedicated to his work.

Minamata is more impactful in the second half, when it focuses more on exposing corporate corruption and the blue-collar protesters becoming more desperate by the day.

Yet by chronicling the struggle through Gene’s eyes — or more accurately, his camera lens — the provocative subject matter resonates visually rather than emotionally.

Rated R, 115 minutes.