“Toxic Town."

“Toxic Town” (Netflix) British drama miniseries, follows the story of three mothers involved in the Corby toxic waste case, which was a London court case that was decided in 2009. The Corby Borough Council was found liable in negligence, public nuisance and a breach of statutory duty for its reclamation of a Corby Steelworks in the town of Corby, Northamptonshire, between 1985 and 1997. 

       The landmark decision was historically significant as the first in the world to establish a link between atmospheric toxic waste and birth defects – all previous cases have involved water pollution – and held implications for other council reclamation programmes and the methods of conducting reclamation in England and Wales.

       The case easily reminds us of Erin Brockovich and the 2000 movie that chronicled Erin's legal fight against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) in the early 1990s involving groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California.

       The four-episode “Toxic Town” is a less grandiose small screen feature but nevertheless heart-wrenching and enlightening. As Susan and Tracey (moms of victim-children) spoke in the court, you could feel their pain deep within. Bleeding fissures left in a mother's heart for the life that she ushered into earth and then see her child suffer or perish. That agony is embedded within, forever, yet the sorrow isn't the mother or child's doing. Corporate greed bears the utmost guilt. But big business doesn't really care; profit blinds their conscience. Worse, government leadership that is morally tasked and legally mandated to protect the people chose to ignore. How many times have we experienced or seen similar tragedies happen?

       Jodie Whittaker as Susan and Aimee Lou Wood as Tracey deliver outstanding performances, remarkable dramatic restraint. No screaming, no wild hysterics. But the impact in your chest is thunderous. Credit as well to writer Jack Throne for the tight script and Minkie Spiro's minimalist navigation of the story. 🎥👍📽