Erin Brockovich [VHS] [2000]

This is a very entertaining, well directed movie with an excellent performance by Albert Finney and a notable one by Julia Roberts, who plays the title role of Erin Brockovich. The rest of the cast, likewise, give excellent performances.

The story is a compelling one. A down and out single mother of three young children, Erin Brockovich, gets into an auto accident. Her personal injury suit goes down the tubes, when she alienates the jury with her checkered past and salty language. Angry and desperate, she bullies her lawyer, Ed Masry, disarmingly played by Albert Finney, into hiring her, after he loses her personal injury case. He does so, to the consternation of his other employees. You see, Erin marches to the beat of a different drummer. She dresses like a tramp and talks like a longshoreman.

Which only goes to show you that one should never judge a book by its cover. Beneath the vulgar exterior, lies a steel trap mind, which Erin put to good use when she goes through a pro bono real estate case, only to discover that there is more to the real estate transaction than meets the eye, a whole lot more. Intrigued by the fact that extensive medical records are included in the real estate transaction paperwork and wondering why that should be, Erin lets her natural curiosity and interest in people prevail. She goes about and investigates the matter.

What she ultimately discovers is that toxic waste is very clearly affecting the quality of life of the inhabitants of the town of Hinckley, California. It appears that the utilities giant Pacific Gas and Electric has been letting highly toxic chromium seep into the ground, affecting the water which the inhabitants of the town use. The utilities giant has compounded the problem by telling the townspeople that they should not worry about a little chromium, despite the high incidence of cancer and other illnesses that abound in Hinckley.

Erin, outraged on behalf of the townspeople, discovers through her research and investigation that Pacific Gas and Electric knew about the toxicity of chromium, but continued with business as usual and set about deceiving the unsuspecting townspeople to their ultimate detriment. Eager to right a serious wrong, Erin persuades her employer, small time lawyer Ed Masry, to take on this big time case. This ultimately leads to one of the largest monetary class action settlements in history.

This is a true life David and Goliath story. Julia Roberts gives a sassy and brassy performance. Albert Finney does his part justice, as the beleagured small practitioner who decides to do the right thing, even though it could end to his financial detriment. His low key performance is a perfect foil to that of Julia Roberts'. It makes for a film well worth watching.

Erin Brockovich is a tale of a woman struggling with circumstances difficult enough to make the viewer wonder how she might get out of them, and it is good to see how she manages (with the help of othet people) to deal with the obstacles and enable truth and justice to prevail as well. The fact that this is a true story about a real human, not a saint, makes it all the more satisfying. The DVD contains an interesting short featurette with the real Erin Brockovich and the lawyer she worked with.
Highly recommended.

After losing a court trial Erin Brockovich (Roberts) forcefully secures a post at a law firm in the hope of raising money for her child and doing something substantial in her life.

When the credits rolled and text appeared declared what happened next I had up to this point forgotten this in fact is a true story, which when looking back is a remarkable story.

Opening with the Pretty Woman actress conversing with a stereotypical boss type at an interview her presence is felt strongly and we know we are in for a strong drama.

As if to compact the genre into full flow we have a shocking car crash which ultimately leads to an unhappy Erin and the introduction of the law firm is set in motion with a staggering no holds barred meeting.

The plot continues to move forward with its main star, coasting through some powerful real life motions such as being a single parent, struggling with finance and having difficulty getting work. The realism it portrays is strong and can be associated with any viewer and the fact that this is based on a woman's personal experience may have people shedding a tear or two, which is helped along by a bravado Julia Roberts.

The actress at present in 2000 was in a run of a conventional romantic roles. My best friend's wedding, Notting Hill and Runaway bride had all appeared on the star's CV in recent years and here she branches out into a harder dramatic role that enables us viewers to truly see her full potential, which in turn was noticed by Hollywood who won her an Academy Award for her portrayal. I confess to never being high on her fan list but here we do see charisma and a no holds barred approach to truth telling and appetite for enthusiasm. One scene near the end where she is sitting with her boss and two lawyers is brilliant when she challenges her rival to name people and numbers, moment of the film.

The supporting collection of actors lend subtle support to the main star. Aaron Eckhart is brilliant if underused as George the biker whilst Albert Finney is a revelation as a man who knows too much.

Steven Soderbergh, beaten at the Oscars by his other work in Traffic, supplies the necessary dramatic styling of a plot not too high up on action and containing enough dramatic controversy and suspense to see us through. The scenes in the record offices are a bit stretched whilst seeing George with the kid is a bit of an overstep. However he more than makes up with it in the slightly humorous town's meeting and office sessions.

This film, though smart in its casting and directing has a certain lackadaisical approach to story telling. Though based obviously on a true story there is a lack of pacing a stretching of scenes, a feeling of repetitiveness that you can never shake off. Whilst the ending intends to be a feel good motive you don't ultimately feel rewarded at the arrival and to the point in which it got their.

And yet this is a good picture. A good film that is worth seeing if not too often.

7/10