'Erin Brockovich': A Thoroughly Compelling Drama About Working-Class Tenacity Pitted Against Corporate Malfeasance
Erin Brockovich (2000) is a highly involving legal drama starring Julia Roberts as Erin Brockovich, a financially strapped single mother raising three children while searching for steady employment. After pressuring attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney) into giving her clerical work at his modest California law firm, Erin becomes intrigued by medical records attached to a real estate file involving residents of the desert community of Hinkley.
The storyline follows Erin's increasingly determined investigation into the Hinkley properties, which reveals that Pacific Gas and Electric has contaminated the town's groundwater with toxic chromium. She begins interviewing families suffering from serious illnesses and unexplained health problems, gradually earning their trust despite her lack of legal training. Possessing an extraordinary capacity for persuasion, Erin helps Masry assemble a case against the powerful utility company, even as her relentless commitment to the investigation begins to consume both her professional and personal life.
Directed by Steven Soderbergh (Out of Sight, Traffic), Erin Brockovich is a thoroughly engaging account of working-class tenacity pitted against corporate malfeasance. Roberts, in an Oscar-winning performance, imbues Brockovich with both confidence vulnerability without diminishing the force of her personality. Finney is equally strong as the exasperated yet loyal Masry, whose relationship with Erin provides much of the film's humor and warmth. Based on a true story, the film serves as a compelling depiction of perseverance transformed into advocacy for a community devastated by corporate misconduct.
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