Erin Brockovich [DVD] [2000]

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.

Julia Roberts really proves she's one of the best actresses around in this film, displaying real, pure talent - Albert Finney also puts in a memorable performance and together they totally bust PG&E!

To be honest, i wouldn't usually pick this kind of a film ... true stories tend to be over the top and sentimental ... but Erin Brockovich is gritty, realistic drama. In short, it's fantastic!