There's something about Erin Brockovich that makes it almost impossible not to be satisfied with the film. Maybe it is the overflowing cleavage of Julia Roberts, perfectly round nostrils or famously plump lips that have made her the quintessential movie star of our day. Perhaps it is the deft guidance and diligent attention of director Steven Soderbergh to the truth. Maybe it is the convincing tale that demands the respect of the audience with its early declaration of fact.
A desperate Erin Brockovich (Julia Roberts) in a work interview begs, "I'm great with people." She doesn't understand the stance. But that's nothing new; this 30-something super mom has grown used to raising her three kids while trying to cover their eyes from her $16 bank account at the same time. But when a speeding doctor's high-priced Jaguar hits her car from nowhere, a lawsuit appears to be the solution to her problems.
As her unemployment and two failed marriages are brought to light, and the jury is persuaded that she is an irresponsible woman trying to suck a decent and honest doctor out of his money, Brockovich is mocked on the stand. But in mysterious ways, fate works, and soon Brockovich has a career. She was acting for the prosecutor who had lost the case to her.
Erin Brockovich is not so much about the life of the name of the woman she shares as the thrilling legal fight she fights for the lawyer as mentioned earlier to work for. She stumbles on oddities while filing some papers for a pro-bono real estate case, leading her to investigate mass pollution in the water supply of a small town and the multi-billion - dollar business that is attempting to cover it up.
The only significant fault in the film is that a decent amount of focus is paid to Brockovich's personal life and the old-fashioned cliché of her being married to her work and putting her family second, rather than dedicating all her time to the fascinating lawsuit. The movie doesn't need these scenes as Brockovich becomes compassionate and pleasant to the sick and dying families who have had their lives devastated by the local water source. In a back office where policy is debated and a conference room where agreements are reached, the most enjoyable scenes of the movie take place, not the bedroom where her children lament about her not being home for dinner.
Erin Brockovich is the perfect combination of top quality crowd-pleaser movie and dealing with major socio-political issues.
