Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Written by:  Susannah Grant
Starring:  Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Peter Coyote
 

March 30, 2000

         I thought I saw this David and Goliath film two years ago when it was called A Civil Action. Like A Civil Action, Erin Brockovich has noteworthy acting, Albert Finney, and a strong lead, Julia Roberts. But they both suffer from cliché scripts. We've seen this film too many times; underdog firm takes on big corporate company with billions of dollars and time on their hands to drag out the trial. The only difference here is that Brockovich is a single mother trying to raise kids, and is not a lawyer. That twist lasts for about a half an hour, then loses its appeal. 
         Julia Roberts has been getting a lot of hype lately, saying this is her best performance in years.  Like I said before, she's a strong lead, but nothing new. When I saw her up on the screen, I still saw her as Julia Roberts. The one who really stands out here is Albert Finney, as her boss Ed Masry. The best scenes in the film are when he and Brockovich are facing off at each other. 
         The whole ploy behind her character is that she's not afraid to say what's on her mind.  That gets old after awhile; we know she's going to come into the room and blurt out whatever she's thinking. Russell Crowe's Jeffrey Wigand in last year's The Insider was a much more interesting character. He in a sense did the same thing, said what was on his mind. But there was an arrogance to his character that makes him more intriguing. Sure, Brockovich has integrity, but what did she really lose; Wigand lost his job and his family.
         I'm not trying to compare sorrows here, my point is that The Insider was a much better story on the little man versus the big corporation. It told it from a 60 Minutes producer's point of view, not from the lawyer's.  Brockovich lacks the intensity of The Insider; there’s no tension here, we know how it’s going to turn out.  Mann's direction stands out too, while Soderbergh's is dry; there's nothing creative. 
 

Recommended Alternatives:  The Limey, Traffic (both d: Soderbergh), The Insider, Network, All the President's Men

-Reviewed in Theater-

Nominated for
3 Fidelio Film Awards

Winner of
3 Fidelio Film Awards