Stillwater is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Tom McCarthy, based on a script he co-wrote with Marcus Hinchey, Thomas Bidegain and Noé Debré.

It stars Matt Damon as Bill Baker, an unemployed oil-rig worker from Oklahoma who sets out with a Frenchwoman (Camille Cottin) to prove his convicted daughter's (Abigail Breslin) innocence.

Bill meets with Sharon, his late wife's mother, before traveling to France to visit his daughter Allison, who has served five years of a nine-year prison sentence.

Dirosa, a private investigator and retired police officer who worked on Allison's case, warns that she can only be exonerated with DNA evidence.

Four months later, Bill has remained in Marseille, renting a room in Virginie's apartment and helping her care for Maya while working for a construction crew.

Dirosa suspects Bill is holding Akim captive, and poses as a building inspector to question Virginie about the basement, arousing her own suspicions.

Bill asks her about the Stillwater necklace he gave her when she first left for Marseille, and Allison breaks down, confessing that she paid Akim to evict the unfaithful Lina from their apartment, but never intended for him to kill her.

Dantès was convicted of a crime he did not commit and sent to the Marseille prison island Château d'If, which is visible in the background of several scenes in which Allison and Bill are swimming.

[2][3] In the United States and Canada, Stillwater was released alongside Jungle Cruise and The Green Knight, and was projected to gross around $5 million from 2,531 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's consensus reads: "Stillwater isn't perfect, but its thoughtful approach to intelligent themes — and strong performances from its leads — give this timely drama a steadily building power.

"[21] Simran Hans of The Observer gave the film a score of 3/5 stars, describing it as "a thoughtful, knotty character study, albeit one nestled inside a polished, and less interesting, action thriller.

Knox said, "by fictionalizing away my innocence, my total lack of involvement, by erasing the role of the authorities in my wrongful conviction, McCarthy reinforces an image of me as a guilty and untrustworthy person.