Erin Brockovich (2000)
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
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22 films that influenced Erin Brockovich
What critics say influenced Erin Brockovich
"Erin Brockovich" is " Silkwood " ( Meryl Streep fighting nuclear wastes) crossed with " A Civil Action " ( John Travolta against pollution) plus Julia Roberts in a plunging neckline.
With a plot hook that was almost identically seen in 1998's "A Civil Action," yet focuses more on the central character than the former did on John Travolta, "Erin Brockovich," for all of its attributes, lacks urgency.
It bears a striking resemblance to another similarly-themed 1998 courtroom flick "A Civil Action".
Like 1998's A Civil Action , which traversed similar territory, Erin Brockovich is based on an actual case - a fact that makes the basic storyline all the more discomforting.
Plotwise, Erin Brockovich covers familiar territory: We’ve seen small underdog law firms take on the amoral practices of giant corporations in such movies as A Civil Action, starring John Travolta and also based on a true story, and The Rainmaker, starring Matt Damon and based on a John Grisham novel.
A little over a year ago, John Travolta starred in A Civil Action , a film based on a true story about a lawyer's long-shot crusade against a big business guilty of contaminating a small town's water supply.
I'm waiting to see which nitwit will be the first to dismiss "Erin Brockovich" because things actually turn out well, or because it reminds him or her of "Norma Rae" or "A Civil Action" and, well, doesn't that mean it has been done?
Not yet it doesn't, but before " Erin Brockovich " is over those qualities will surface as major players in this irresistible, hugely satisfying feminist fairy tale that turns "Norma Rae" into the protagonist of "A Civil Action" and makes us believe it.
In a lot of respects this is a very old-fashioned Hollywood entertainment — Pretty Woman (you won't believe some of the outfits Roberts wears here, by the way) meets Norma Rae.
The result is a portrayal of a real-life working-class hero on a par with Norma Rae, which won Sally Field an Oscar, and Silkwood, which earned Meryl Streep an Oscar nomination.
Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich is one of those lone justice crowd pleasers, like "Norma Rae" or "Silkwood," in which a workaday woman dares to fight the system…
One of the most salutary aspects of this riveting drama is the rounded portrait of a deeply flawed heroine who, like the courageous women in Norma Rae and Silkwood, demonstrates the hard road of trying to make a difference in the world.
"Erin Brockovich" is " Silkwood " ( Meryl Streep fighting nuclear wastes) crossed with " A Civil Action " ( John Travolta against pollution) plus Julia Roberts in a plunging neckline.
If the movie had tried to turn this into A Civil Action or Silkwood, it would have been doomed.
Sure, there's a little Civil Action here, some Silkwood, even some Pretty Woman.
The result is a portrayal of a real-life working-class hero on a par with Norma Rae, which won Sally Field an Oscar, and Silkwood, which earned Meryl Streep an Oscar nomination.
Erin Brockovich Erin Brockovich is one of those lone justice crowd pleasers, like "Norma Rae" or "Silkwood," in which a workaday woman dares to fight the system…
In movies from Silkwood to The Insider to A Civil Action, we've learned to recognize the basic outline, the key plot developments, the scares, and the triumphs.
Even " Erin Brockovich " herself owes something to the spirit of Brando's inspirational performance at the end of the film.
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At the same time, Roberts suggests both a woman who's a bundle of emotions and a woman who's as comfortable with who she is as John Wayne is in "Rio Bravo."
George is played by Aaron Eckhart , who was so dominant in " In the Company of Men ," but here, wearing a twerpy John Ritter beard that he doesn't seem comfortable with, he's a shallow cipher.
George is played by Aaron Eckhart, best remembered as the bigger of the two bastards in Neil Labute's fabulous black comedy In The Company of Men.
Co-stars Albert Finney (Simpatico) and Aaron Eckhart (In the Company of Men) do themselves proud too.
A romantic sub-plot between Erin and her biker boyfriend George (Aaron Eckhart, In the Company of Men) doesn't distract from the story but rather focuses our attention on the other gender conflicts running through the film.
Between pursuing the case and having her kids baby-sat by the Harley Davidson biker next-door (Aaron Eckhart of "In the Company of Men"), she runs herself ragged while discovering the many stories of individuals in the ailing town of Hinkley, Calif.
Erin, it seems, was not a lawyer and didn't look like one, but bossed and manipulated a poor lawyer played charmingly by Albert Finney ("Miller's Crossing") into giving her a job at his firm where she just happened to spend her time when she wasn't emasculating her biker boyfriend played by Aaron Eckhart ("In the Company of Men") or bossing and manipulating him into taking care of her three kids so she could go uncover just how shitty the bad people at PG&E were and how they let hundreds of people get gross and sickly before ending up in court because Erin bossed and manipulated them into being there.
Every step of the way with Roberts is famed costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, pulling out the same tricks he did for Mia Farrow fifteen years back in Broadway Danny Rose.
A twice-divorced mother of three, desperate for work, she scams her way into a filing job at the law office of Ed Masry (Albert Finney: Simpatico, Tom Jones ), a hard-working single practitioner -- in other words, just a guy trying to do a job, without partners, without a fancy high-rise office, and without rich clients.
Though this is clearly Roberts' film, strong performances abound, including her cynical boss, played by Albert Finney ("Tom Jones," "Simpatico").
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It is honestly refreshing to see her play a character with some depth, something we haven't seen since her role in 1989's "Steel Magnolias."
The screenplay is credited exclusively to Susannah Grant, who also worked on Ever After and Pocahontas, but the dialogue reminds me of Richard LaGravenese (Living Out Loud, The Fisher King), the writer/director whose name was on early credit listings for the film but has since been excised.