Movies…with a little bit of obscure culture and sports mixed in
“An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city’s water supply.” Director: Steven SoderberghWriter: Susannah GrantStaring: Julia […]
“An unemployed single mother becomes a legal assistant and almost single-handedly brings down a California power company accused of polluting a city’s water supply.”
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Writer: Susannah Grant
Staring: Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart
Release Date: March 17, 2000
IMDB
Man, Julia Roberts. Fuck. She is really good at this acting thing.
Alright, alright. To everyone reading this going “Yea, no shit,” I accept your shame and beg you to forgive me. Let me get to this kick-ass film, Erin Brockovich (2000).
The story of Erin Brockovich is a true story. It is a testament that life is stranger than fiction. Erin is a two-time divorced single parent of three kids. She is working dead-end jobs just making ends meet until she lands in the law office of Ed Masry (Albert Finney). While doing standard paperwork, Erin stumbles across some odd medical papers that prickles her over talkative instincts.
After some investigative research, Erin discovers that Pacific Gas and Elecrtric (PG&E) is trying to buy up land from residents because they polluted the land with extra dangerous doses of Hexavalent Chromium. Further examination of local records and interviews with residents put Erin’s hunch firmly in the “real thing” pile. Ed starts to see the web that Erin is untangling so he begins the process of taking legal action against PG&E.
Erin and Ed are giving extensive amount of themselves to the case. Erin’s kids begin to feel her pulling away, but the kindness of a new neighbor George (Aaron Eckhart) allows Erin to somewhat obtain a work/life balance. This reprieve of stress is short lived for the battle with PG&E begins heating up. Attempts at plea deals, compensation and intimidation all mine the path, but Erin is able to ward off such distractions with her innate ability to curse like a sailor but empathize with everyone. She is constantly surprising other people, but never herself. She knows she is good at this private investigating and she knows she has PG&E on the ropes.
Julia Roberts. Man, I love Julia Roberts. She got paid over 20 million dollars for this role, which was a record at the time. And guess, what, it was worth every single penny. Roberts won the Academy Award for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich, and forgot to thank the real Erin in her speech. Tough time to have that memory fart. But rest assured Roberts, nobody is forgetting your work in this movie.
Roberts has a dark sense of comedic timing in Erin Brockovich that is much different that her happy go lucky smile in Pretty Woman (1990), but her rated R vocabulary works in spades. Roberts carries herself with so much confidence that it doesn’t seem believable, but to try and plow through in a world there you have had the shittiest luck, you need that sort of swagger.
The screenplay, which was nominated for an Oscar, from Susannah Grant, allows for Roberts to stretch herself to her limit. The exhaustive research Erin does in the story never wears to much on her because she knows that she is going to get the final word. Pretty Woman has lines in it that make you cover your mouth in shock and giggle. Whether it be the 648 blowjobs, the PG&E negotiations, or the inability to apologize, Roberts fills Erin with a vibrancy that is not easily forgettable.
Bravo Albert Finney. Bravo. Finney’s performance as the lawyer Ed Masry arrives like an outstanding side at a fancy restaurant. Sure, Roberts is the special T-Bone steak that takes up the majority of the plate, but Finney is the mashed potatoes that your slopping up with every extra piece of bread you can. His character is Erin’s boss, technically. But as the story and case unfolds and the scope of PG&E’s crimes expands, Erin and Ed’s relationship turns more to a friendship thriving on patience. Erin is able to teach Ed about how to better connect with the clients of this massive case. Ed is able to teach Erin how to navigate the law world while still allowing her to have her patented pizzazz.
Come the end of Erin Brockovich, there is a final scene with Erin and Ed that perfectly sums up how their relationship grew. Erin was not afraid to live out the mantra, If you give an inch then they’ll take a mile, and Ed finally gets the upper hand predicting how Erin would lash out to something she found disingenuous. It is the first time where Erin is the one that’s made to look silly. There are plenty of laughs in Erin Brockovich, but 90% of those punch lines are delivered by Roberts. The last one comes from the salutary, soothing and lullaby inducing voice of Albert Finney. It is outstanding.
Erin Brockovich earned Finney his fifth and final Oscar nomination. He was first nominated for Tom Jones (1963), and had calls for attention for playing Hercule Poirot in Murder On The Orient Express (1974), followed by The Dresser (1983), and Under The Volcano (1984). Finney passed away on February 7, 2019.
You want a cool little tid-bit? Turns out that Erin Brockovich the movie is very similar to the Brockovich real life journey. With any movie that is based off of true story, there are grains of salt that need to be taken. According to the real Erin Brockovich, the award winning performance by Julia Roberts, and the story as a whole, are about 98% accurate. She penned an essay for CNBC citing how her potty mouth is all real, as was her relationship with the biker dude.
Perhaps the only nitpick I have about Erin Brockovich is Aaron Eckhart. It is not that he did a bad job as George, but It was off-putting seeing him in the motorcycle, denim jacket garb. It was jarring to the eye. The relationship between George and Erin is important for the movie because it shows how far Erin is pushing herself. She was desperate for any help she could get, and she was pushing that to the curb as well to get this job done. It is one of those strange instincts and it is a strictly personal problem. It is just Eckhart in the role. It baffles my eyeballs.
Who could have played the part of George? Maybe it could have been any early career John Cusack? Maybe Jeff Bridges? Just somebody that could pull off the beard, ponytail, motorcycle riding aesthetic a little more convincingly.
But really. that’s my only gripe. Erin Brockovich is a fantastic story bound together by a compelling character with an outstanding lead performance from Julia Roberts. The story punches its way through corporate mumbo-jumbo and spells out the stakes of the case in succinct, human terms. The relationship of the Erin with the community feels real, as does Erin’s brashness with her co-workers, friends, and enemies. Roberts takes the character of Eric Brockovich by the reigns and director Steven Soderbergh acts as a great tamer keeping it all on the rails.
I suppose now is a good time for me to admit that I didn’t know Steven Soderbergh directed Erin Brockovich. What a stretch for that man having this Oscar nominated movie to start the new millennium followed by what many consider the greatest caper in recent memory, Ocean’s 11 (2001). Oh, and how could I forget that Soderbergh was nominated TWICE in 2001 because he also made Traffic (2000), which had five nominations of its own including a Best Picture nod. King of the early 2000s, I name thee Steven Soderbergh.
Also in a purely coincidental accident, I have Out Of Sight (1998) downloaded on my Peacock app to watch the train over the coming weeks. I am not only kinda (re)discovering Julia Roberts, but also Steven Soderbergh.
Erin Brockovich was nominated for five Academy Awards. Mentioned earlier how Roberts won her lone Oscar for this role, but others received recognition as well. Susannah Grant was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, and Steve Soderbergh got his name read at the Academy Awards with a Best Director nomination. Albert Finney was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Erin Brockovich as a whole earned a Best Picture nomination.
What other details do you need to go see Erin Brockovich if you haven’t sen it already. Well acted, well structured, well made and well received. Four corners for a damn good movie night.
Erin Brockovich is streaming on Peacock.
STANKO RATING: A-
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