Based
on a true story. Erin Brockovich is a struggling mother of three who
bulldozes her way into working for a small law firm, and uncovers a
possible coverup involving a powerful multi-billion dollar energy
company who may have been responsible for the poor health of the
residents living near one of their power plants. The small firm has
their hands more than full in such a formidable foe, and the length
of time it will take to sue may not only bankrupt the firm but the
victims may not live long enough to see justice be done.
Two things should be abundantly clear after seeing the excellent ERIN BROCKOVICH: Julia Roberts may very well be the best bankable actress working today and Steven Soderbergh may be the best director no one's ever heard of. One almost wishes the film had been released three months before, because this is definitely an effort worthy of Oscar consideration, and not just for the star and director, but also Albert Finney in the best performance he's given in almost two decades.
The story isn't really anything you haven't seen many times before, and in fact is quite similar to A CIVIL ACTION which came out only a couple of years before. What sets ERIN BROCKOVICH apart from these others is the attention to detail, the very witty script, and brilliant casting by Soderbergh. Every performance smacks of reality, even down to those of the children, who are so authentic you'd almost think they weren't acting at all.
Credit
Roberts, Finney and Soderbergh for making one of the biggest
surprises of 2000, because this is definitely a film that took real
guts to make. Roberts is coming off a string of hugely successful
romantic comedies that solidified her as a bonafide superstar, and a
film about polluted water is definitely not something one would
expect. It's ironic that Roberts' most improbable role might also
just as improbably be her best ever. Reportedly they spent $20
million in getting her services, which was also very risky
considering the subject matter is not one that lends itself to being
a blockbuster, and the fact that they are releasing it at a slow
period for movies as at a time when it will probably not be in the
hunt for the Academy Awards at the end of the year, there was so
little going for it that it's astonishing at just how good it really
is. ERIN BROCKOVICH is about as funny, smart, interesting and
inspiring movie as any this year and one can only hope Academy voters
don't suffer from the short attention span that they are known for
come nomination time.
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