Erin Brockovich – 2000
This was a film that was based on true events. Erin Brockovich is a Legal Clerk and environmental activist living in southern California. Despite having no formal education in law, she was instrumental in investigating, building a case against, and successfully suing Pacific Gas and Electric Company, PG&E, in the largest direct-action law suit in U.S. history. This film is a dramatization of those events.
Julia Roberts starred as the title character in what some have called one of the best performances of her career. She took home the Best Actress Oscar for her realistic portrayal. And she certainly did a great job. The character was brash, bold, and foul mouthed, but at the same time, deeply passionate about what she believed in. The character, and the way Roberts played it, almost seemed over-the-top and bordered on comedic at times. But there was also a seriousness about her that made the performance real.
Erin was a single mother of three children who was out of work and desperate for a job. She was injured in a car accident and went to a lawyer to seek legal compensation. She lost her law suit, and became so angry that she bullied her lawyer, Mr. Edward Masry, played by Albert Finney, into giving her a job. While there, she began to investigate some real estate cases in which she found that medical records had been included with the paperwork. Not understanding why property cases required medical records, she went to the people in the town of Hinkley California and conducted interviews.
She learned that PG&E had been using a highly toxic chemical called hexavalent chromium which had been carelessly been allowed to sink into Hinkley’s ground water. The contaminated water had been causing severe health problems in the town’s residents. People had been experiencing various forms of cancer, among other serious health problems. Her investigation uncovered the fact that PG&E knew of the water contamination, but that a massive cover-up and misinformation campaign had been perpetrated against the victims.
Erin and Masry’s legal investigation was the main focus of the plot. But it was Erin’s personal life that provided the film’s drama. The character of Erin Brockovich was portrayed as somewhat trashy, based mostly on her hooker-like wardrobe, but moderately intelligent and incredibly hard-working. Unfortunately, she didn’t know when to keep her mouth shut or her tongue civil. Sometimes it worked to her advantage, but just as often, it got her into trouble. Erin’s struggle to excel in her demanding job while trying to take care of her children was inspirational.
On top of all that, she started a relationship with her Harley Davidson biker neighbor, George, wonderfully played by Aaron Eckhart. Sure, it was great to see Erin blossom into a hard-working legal clerk for the sake of her kids, but I really sympathized with her neglected children, and felt especially bad about her strained, one-sided relationship with George. He was such a nice guy. He selflessly offered to take care of her children while she spent endless hours on her holy crusade. She constantly ignored her children and thoughtlessly took advantage of his kindness. When he eventually had enough and left her, I was on his side.
Now, granted, it all worked out for her in the end. She ended up winning the law suit and became a millionaire, able to take care of her children. But let’s face it. She got lucky. There were a hundred ways in which she could have lost the case and gotten nothing. I understand, she worked hard, which counted for something. But hard-work only got her so far. A single judge’s ruling could have easily derailed her entire investigation. It is hard to feel too confident in a main character who simply won by getting lucky.
The rest of the cast did just fine. Marg Helgenberger played Donna Jensen, the plaintiff who served as the main focus of the investigation, though there were others. Tracey Walter played Charles Embry, the deus ex machina of the investigation. At first he seemed like a scuzzy sleaze who wanted to hit on Erin. But as it turned out, he provided the final piece of evidence which, at the last minute, provided the needed evidence that assured the law suit’s successful outcome. I also liked the lawyers Mr. Masry partnered with, Kurt Potter, played by Peter Coyote and Theresa Dallavale, played by Veanne Cox. They habitually dismissed the uneducated Erin, but were properly surprised when she provided everything needed to win the case.
The movie was a pretty good movie, though the subject matter was a little slow. I have found that the film was pretty accurate to real events. The movie’s real saving grace was Roberts and her fantastic performance. But, of course, this had just as much to do with the strong script by Susannah Grant as with the Robert’s spot-on performance. It really was, in the end, an engaging and inspirational story. But I have to admit that there were times I just didn’t like the main character, despite how well Roberts played her.