The Reel Review
An enterprising divorced law firm clerk struggling to support her three young children seeks justice when she discovers a large corporation is trying to hide the illegal chemical poisoning of the ground water of a small California community where residents are now suffering from related cancers. Julia Roberts and Albert Finney star in this biopic based on a true story.
Director Steven Soderbergh is at the top of his game helming this cleverly-constructed, funny and heartfelt story from Susannah Grant (Charlotte’s Web, Pocahontas). Roberts shines as the tough talking Erin Brockovich, a no-nonsense fighter who likes sexy clothes and has a knack for getting reticent plaintiffs to come forward, alongside Finney’s Ed Masry, the lawyer/boss who eventually learns not to underestimate her. The strong supporting cast includes Aaron Eckart as her neighbor/boyfriend/babysitter, Conchata Ferrell as the law firm manager and Marg Helgenberger and Cherry Jones as two of the plaintiffs.
The film is chocked full of memorable one-liners. Her retort to Ferrell, as the office assistant who chides her for not checking in while out talking with plaintiffs, in particular, is a meme-worthy winner. Erin Brockovich and its message of social justice in an increasingly unjust world stands the test of time – a feel-good classic.
REEL FACTS
• Julia Roberts won a Best Actress Oscar for Erin Brockovich, making her the first actress to win an Oscar, a SAG Award, a BAFTA, a Critics’ Choice Award and a Golden Globe in the same year.
• Erin Brockovich, who says the film was 99% accurate, has a cameo in the film as the diner waitress Julia (a nod to Roberts).
• Judge LeRoy A Simmons, who presided over the pleading and discovery of the case, appears in the film at the 1 hour 20 minute mark as himself.
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