Movie Stats:
Released 2000 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Steven Soderbergh
Stars - Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story. When low income single mother Erin Brockovich (Roberts) muscles her way into a job at a law firm, she uncovers serious wrongdoing by an energy company. Finney co-stars as Brockovich’s boss, Ed Masry, and Eckhart as George, Brockovich’s love interest.
Warnings:
Heavy blue language; implied sexy times.
Bad Stuff:
It’s a little boring. There aren’t any big thrills in it.
Brockovich isn’t exactly likable as a character. She can be very defensive and aggressive. While I appreciated that she’s complex, it’s still off-putting.
Good Stuff:
[SPOILER-y]
I like a good little-guy-takes-on-big-guy-and-wins story, especially one based in reality.
[SPOILER]
I really appreciated how it tackled class issues. It’s not just about how the billion dollar energy conglomerate treats, and tries to treat, the people of a poor community. It’s also about how middle class people view and treat Erin, who is lower class.
It does a good job of portraying a story that is both infuriating and depressing without trying to tug at your heart strings.
About the Performance:
Julia Roberts is one of those actors that I can only ever see as herself. While, by the end of the film, I came to admire Erin Brockovich as a person, it didn’t change how I feel about Julia Roberts as an actress. I didn’t see Erin Brockovich in her performance. It was like, “Oh, there’s Julia Roberts dressed trashy. There she is acting angry.” I’m not saying she’s bad, but I don’t consider her an all-time great. Did she deserve a Best Actress award for this? I’m not sure. I’ve only seen one of the other performances nominated that year (Juliette Binoche in Chocolat). I don’t think Binoche deserved it, but maybe one of the others did.
Other performances of Roberts’s that I’ve reviewed: none.
The Verdict:
There’s a lot to like about this film. It’s a great story. It has complex characters. It doesn’t try to manipulate your emotions. While I may not be sold on Roberts’s performance, I like that she won for a role in a film that’s about a woman as a person, not about a woman in relation to a man. The relationship in the film definitely isn’t the main focus. It’s about Brockovich’s dedication and determination, and about how her work affects the rest of her life. It’s not the most thrilling movie I’ve ever seen, but it’s really solid.
I give it 4.25 stars.
2 comments:
Good point about Julia Roberts always being Julia Roberts. It kind of makes the whole "Tess" thing in the Oceans 11/12/13 movies rather meta.
I just checked the Best Actress nominees for that year. I was fine with Roberts winning, but I also would have been fine with Laura Linney for "You Can Count on Me" and Ellen Burstyn for "Requiem for a Dream." That movie is rough, and she was great. I don't think I saw the Contender. Chocolat was fine. Juliette Binoche was fine.
That was actually a good year for actresses-who-are-not-wives-girlfriends-prostitutes. Even the supporting actresses aren't too terrible in that regard.
It's been a long time since I've seen any of the Oceans films! I don't remember the "Tess thing." The Oscars are usually pretty good about not falling into the wife-girlfriend-prostitute trap in regards to Best Actress, although it loves a good mom performance, especially of the bad/complicated variety.
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