Erin Brockovich - Forte come la verità

I get a real kick out of reading other peoples reviews for movies, i find it disturbing that they always label an actor on previous movies and dont seperate them when they see something worth an oscar like this one. I thought the acting was great, the movie felt real. The plot was so convincing to the veiwer. A little comedy mixed with raw emotion was the clencher to make this movie oscar worthy. After seeing this film I found myself telling others about it and recomending it to everyone. I give this film two thumbs up!

I've never been a big fan of Julia Roberts as an actress and so I approached this movie with trepidation but I have to admit that I really enjoyed it. Not only that, but Julia Roberts was excellent. I don't think I've ever seen a Roberts movie where she had this commanding a screen presence. Her physical presence may have helped in that regard but so did her acting. But man, she really looked good in this movie. Oh, and Albert Finney displayed some pretty solid acting skills as well even though he didn't look good. Overall, I'd say that most people who watch this movie will probably find themselves cheering for Erin and will be very satisfied with the film. I was.

Erin Brokovich is all about two characters: the title character, played by Julia Roberts, and Ed Masry, played by Albert Finney. Brokovich is a bold and flashy woman; given all the buzz, everyone reading this has surely already heard about her wardrobe. Masry is a talented but world-weary lawyer in a small law firm.

Roberts and Finney are both in fine form here, making the characters sympathetic and believable. The supporting cast is not as strong - none of the other characters in the film seem entirely filled-out - but that's a minor quibble.

There is a bit of a tone of moral righteousness here. After all, it is the story of a nobody going up against Big Business, not to mention the obstacles facing a single mother in the working world. But it's not overdone, and the film succeeds in getting you to root for the underdog, an always popular pastime.

Out of work, out of hope, trashy, twice divorced single mother Erin fails to get another job due to her lack of experience. On her way home she is hit by another car. She goes to lawyer Ed Masry who spectacularly fails to win her any damages. Erin demands he gives her a job and he begrudgingly does. Doing some of his pro-bono work, Erin uncovers evidence that suggests that manufacturing firm PG&E had poisoned the local water supply and lie to residents about the content. As she looks deeper she finds a legacy of illness and a small bit of research turns into a mammoth case.

I don't know how much of this drama is factual and how much of it is changed to add to dramatic effect but regardless the story is involving, funny and moving. At the time there was a rash of 'environmental damage' legal films of which this is one of the more polished and classy. The film focuses as much on Erin as it does on the case and at times it risked failing as a legal drama/thriller. However it still grips as the facts pretty much speak for themselves – the film adds to this by creating a real sense of PG&E as a monster without scruples or concern for the residents. As a result the events feel more powerful and involving. It feels slow at times, but if you're into it then it feels patient rather than slow and deliberate rather than laboured.

The biggest reason that the focus on Erin works is because Roberts really does very well giving her Erin a down to earth, trashy feel that could have been hammy or unbelievable (she is a multimillion pound actress after all), but it wasn't. Instead it was realistic and quite warm – where she could have been annoying. The grumpy Finney is also good value and seems natural in the role. Eckhart is almost too good to be true but gives a likable performance and is a winning non-distraction.

The film benefits from the style that Soderbergh brings to it. It glides with the grace that he brought to Ocean's 11 and has the rich colouring that parts of Traffic had. His direction really adds to the film and makes the sum feel a little greater that the parts put together.

Overall this may not be the legal thriller that you hoped for and it may move a great deal slower that I thought a Hollywood film would, but it is worth it. The film is patient and worth baring with and Roberts is actually pretty good in the lead! Enjoyable.

Steven Soderbergh's Erin Brockovich opens with a car accident. The vehicle driven by Erin, an unemployed, twice-divorced mother of three, is broadsided by a speeding car at an intersection. She takes her case to a rumpled, cowed lawyer Ed Masry, who agrees to represent her on a contingency basis. However, in court, Erin's surly manner and blasphemous vocabulary do not endear her to the jury, which finds itself in the defendant's favor, as Erin goes home empty-handed. Still without work and needing to pay her bills, Erin, who has no demonstrable skills, but a passion, an uncommon quantity of common sense, and a defiant way of talking, finagles her way into a position as a file clerk under her former attorney.

It is in this capacity that she uncovers, entirely by accident, a paper trail leading to the town of Hinkley, CA, where an endless stream of residents have been diagnosed with various medical conditions including cancer, disintegrating spinal cords and brain damage. It turns out that the community of Hinkley has been poisoned by hexavalent chromium, leaching into the drinking water from the Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) plant. The case is especially odious because PG&E knew exactly what it was doing but lied about what kind of chromium it was using. Erin gains the trust of the community to mount legal action and strong-arms Ed to put together a case that would win the largest direct claim settlement in American history, even as her personal life is threatened by her devotion to the case.

Steven Soderbergh tests Erin's limits of likability numerous times throughout the movie. An early scene is designed to show what a short fuse Erin has when she explodes in a torrent of profanity in the courtroom. Erin, the film makes clear early on, is no sentimental crusader. Rather, she is a tough, hard-nosed cookie who dresses like a hoochie and who would use anything from here heavily coiffured hair to her cleavage or also her baby to get what she needs. In short, Erin is adrift in a hard world. But what makes this potentially despicable character so affable is Julia Roberts' vulnerable and fiercely dynamic performance. As the eponymous character, she is undoubtedly the heart and soul of the film. As a foil for Erin, Albert Finney draws out a complex, engaging performance that is as warm as it is funny. Their scenes together crackle with chemistry and it's a joy to see this kind of male/female interaction where there is absolutely no hint of sexual attraction.

Soderbergh infuses the proceedings with a vibrant, almost peppy sense of style that would not have been half as compelling had a less edgy director helmed it. It would have been easy for him to have allowed Erin Brockovich to descend into manipulative melodrama, but he resists that path of least resistance, instead giving us a film that is smart, savvy, funny, and, at times, poignant.