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 is the first DreamWorks Pictures film to be distributed by Focus Features. 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.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 8, 2021, and was released theatrically in the United States on July 30, 2021, by Focus Features. It received generally positive reviews from critics and grossed $19 million against its $20 million budget.

In Stillwater, Oklahoma, Bill Baker is a laid-off roughneck scraping by with odd construction jobs. Working disaster cleanup after a tornado in Shawnee, Bill struggles to find another oil rig position. He 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. While attending university in Marseille, Allison was convicted of killing her roommate and lover, Lina.^[4][5]

Allison gives her father a letter written in French to deliver to her defense lawyer, Leparq, who explains that Allison heard from her former professor, Patrick Okonedo, about a man who claimed to be Lina's killer. Leparq says that no judge will be interested in hearsay, but Bill lies to Allison that her case will be reopened. At his hotel, Bill helps a young girl named Maya, and her mother Virginie translates Allison's letter, revealing her desperation at spending another four years in prison, and how little faith she has in her father to help.

Dirosa, a private investigator and retired police officer who worked on Allison's case, warns that she can only be exonerated by DNA evidence. Bill visits Okonedo, who gives him the phone number of Souad, a student who claims to know Lina's killer. Enlisting Virginie's help, Bill meets Souad and a friend at a Quick restaurant, where she identifies the killer as Akim, who lives in the Marseille slum of Kalliste [fr], but her friend grows wary of Bill's questions and they leave.

Combing through social media, Virginie finds photos which Bill brings to Allison, who recognizes Akim. Searching for him in Kalliste, Bill is beaten by a gang until another group arrives, including Akim. Driven out of the neighborhood, Bill admits to Allison that he lied about Leparq agreeing to help and that he lost Akim, and a furious Allison sends him away.

Four months later, Bill has remained in Marseille, renting a room in Virginie's apartment and helping her care for Maya whle working for a construction crew. Allison is granted a day of parole, supervised by Bill, who introduces her to Virginie and Maya. Returning to prison, Allison tries to hang herself, but Bill continues to visit her as their relationship grows stronger. He and Virginie grow closer as well, developing into a romance.

Bill surprises Maya with tickets for an Olympique de Marseille football game at the Stade Vélodrome, where he spots Akim. With Maya asleep, Bill abducts Akim, paying Dirosa to test Akim's hair against DNA from the crime scene. Maya later discovers Bill is keeping Akim prisoner in the basement of their apartment building, but Bill implores her to keep the secret.

Akim tells Bill that Allison hired him to kill Lina, paying him with a gold necklace bearing the word "Stillwater". Dirosa suspects Bill is holding Akim captive, and poses as a building inspector to question Virginie about the basement, arousing her own suspicions. Bill is soon confronted by the police, but the basement is empty and Maya lies to protect him. Virginie does not admit to freeing Akim, but she kicks Bill out for putting her and Maya at risk, and he hugs a tearful Maya goodbye. Leparq informs Bill that Dirosa came forward with new evidence, allowing Allison's case to be reopened.

Allison is exonerated, and returns with her father to a hero's welcome in Oklahoma. 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. As they sit on the porch, Allison says everything looks the same in Stillwater, while Bill declares that he can hardly recognize it anymore.

• Matt Damon as Bill Baker, an unemployed roughneck whose daughter ends up wrongly imprisoned for murder in France. Bill believes in his daughter's innocence so strongly that he takes up investigating her case when no one else will.
• Abigail Breslin as Allison Baker, Bill's daughter. Convicted of murdering her roommate and lover Lina, she still maintains her innocence even after five years of imprisonment. She inadvertently sets her father out to investigate her case by asking him to pass a letter to her lawyer.
• Camille Cottin as Virginie, a single mother living in France who decides to help Bill investigate his daughter's case. She rents Bill a room and translates for him as he pursues leads.
• Lilou Siauvaud as Maya, Virginie's daughter. Bill helps Virginie care for Maya and acts as a father figure to her.
• Deanna Dunagan as Sharon, Bill's mother-in-law and Allison's grandmother. She helps support Bill and Allison financially and coordinates with Allison on Bill's visits to France.
• Idir Azougli as Akim, the mystery man that Bill believes is the real killer.
• Anne Le Ny as Leparq, Allison's lawyer.
• Moussa Maaskri as Dirosa, a retired police officer who offers to help Bill for money.
• William Nadylam as Patrick, a university professor whom Bill tracks down for information on the real killer's identity.

It was announced in July 2019 that Tom McCarthy would write and direct the film, with Matt Damon set to star. Abigail Breslin was added to the cast later in the month, with filming beginning in August 2019.^[6][7][8] Camille Cottin was added to the cast in September.^[9] Mychael Danna composed the film's score.^[10] It was filmed on location in Oklahoma and Marseilles.^[4][5]

Allison is in Marseilles, which is the hometown of Edmond Dantès in The Count of Monte Cristo. 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.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 8, 2021.^[11] It was scheduled to be released in the U.S. on November 6, 2020,^[9][12] but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic^[13] until July 30, 2021.^[14]