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Jason Maloney reviews 
Columbia TriStar
- Cert:
- Cat.no: CDR 30598
- Running time: 126 minutes
- Year: 2000
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 28 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround
- Languages: English, German
- Subtitles: English, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Icelandic, Hindi, Hebrew, Dutch, Bulgarian, German, Turkish, Danish, Swedish, Finnish, Greek, Norwegian and Arabic.
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Behind-the-scenes featurette, “The Real Erin Brockovich” featurette, Deleted Scenes (with optional Director’s Commentary), Filmographies, Isolated Score, U.S. Theatrical Trailer.
Director:
- Steven Soderbergh
Cast:
- Erin Brockovich: Julia Roberts
Ed Masry: Albert Finney
George: Aaron Eckhart
Donna Jensen: Marg Helgenberger
Charles Embry: Tracey Walter
Kurt Potter: Peter Coyote
Theresa Dallavale: Veanne Cox
Blending material based on actual events with the many and varied demands of modern mainstream cinema is a task beset with potential difficulties. The challenge is to find the right balance between an honest interpretation of – and reflection upon – the subject and the adherence to pace, structure and dramatic intensity that makes the finished product both watchable and effective.
In the case of Erin Brockovich, director Steven Soderbergh has done precisely that. It’s based on the true story of how a twice-divorced mother of three stumbled upon a small-town legal case that became the biggest single direct-action lawsuit ever filed against a major company.
Soderbergh, who rose to prominence in 1989 with his Palme D’Or-winning debut feature Sex, Lies & Videotape, spent the best part of the Nineties working on a succession of independent productions before coming to Hollywood’s attention once more with 1998’s sizzling Out Of Sight. Though not quite the box-office smash it deserved to be, the movie nonetheless reminded Hollywood of Soderbergh’s talents as a film-maker.
Brought in to helm Erin Brockovich with leading lady Julia Roberts already on board, the studied approach he applied to the project reaps major dividends. Not only does he elicit possibly the finest performance of Roberts’ career to date, there is also a pleasing ambience and tone to this picture which sets it apart from the majority of big-studio fare.
Several of the year’s most memorable films worked within the Hollywood framework whilst leaning towards a slightly unorthodox style and vibrancy usually associated with the smaller, “alternative” scene. This is not merely coincidental, since the likes of David Fincher (Fight Club), David O. Russell (Three Kings), Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) and Soderbergh himself all began on the fringes, plying their trade via a series of challenging, left-field movies that allowed them free creative reign.
Now backed by bigger Studios and faced with a wealth of higher-profile stars eager to collaborate, they are helping to revive a stale industry with accessible, assured yet still provocative work. Erin Brockovich is the subtlest example so far of this sea-change, as Soderbergh’s inherent sensibilities turn what could so easily have been a cliched slice of corporate cover-up into a surprisingly involving 2 hours of classy cinema.
As the rumours of a forthcoming Oscar nod suggest, Julia Roberts is superb in the title role. All her natural appeal is highlighted, with everything ideally suited to bringing out the best in her abilities. She’s never been so sympathetically filmed, and it’s credit again to Soderbergh that the warm hues and atmospheric cinematography – as well as the excellent script – remind everyone of a Julia Roberts far from the pasty-faced freak that some of her recent films have unfortunately had the effect of showing. She glows, sparkles and just about charms the socks off everyone.
Erin Brockovich is a woman who’s regained self-belief, self-worth, and earned the respect from others that she never felt came her way until the life-changing experience deatiled here. Selfless in her desire to right the terrible wrong inflicted upon innocent small-town folk, she is never portrayed as a saint. She is a person anyone can believe in or identify with (however remotely), and Roberts captures that quality almost effortlessly.
She’s supported all the way by marvellous turns from Albert Finney as Ed Masry – her beleagured boss (and accomplice), and Aaron Eckhart in a career-making performance as the man caught in the emotional crossfire of Brockovich’s deepening involvement in her battle for justice. Look out, too, for a brief cameo from the real Erin Brockovich as a Burger Joint waitress.
The plot contains few surprises or twists. Real-life drama rarely has the convoluted and often ridiculous developments of so many fictional tales, and far from being Erin Brockovich‘s downfall it actually proves to be its strength.
For Soderbergh has shown astute awareness in his thoughtful editing process, eschewing scenes that – in the grand scheme of things – either delay the narrative’s progression or else proved superfluous once the need for a condiserable shortening of the film’s length became apparent. He still felt the eventual running was perhaps five minutes more than ideal, but any further cropping would, in his opinion, have been impossible to undertake without detrimentally affecting the film.
It’s a fair assessment, since what does remain of the original 3 hours and 10 minute cut invests Erin Brockovich with a taut, evenly-paced sense of purpose. The almost customary tinkering with the facts is admirably minimal here, Soderbergh reluctant to “creatively” distort the truth for the sake of dramatic impact. One sequence in particular, included among the DVD’s deleted footage – Roberts’ discovery of the polluted area as her own children play in the earth nearby – would not have been cut by most directors yet Soderbergh was uneasy with its deviation from the actual event it depicted. While a very potent and cinematic scene, he considered its fictionalised nature to be unfairly misleading.
On the other hand, a crucial subplot concerning Erin’s own health problems – resulting directly from her exposure to the toxicity during the case – was left on the cutting-room floor. Soderbergh reasons that it would distract the audience, and possibly even lead them to believe the film was turning into a disease movie in its second half. A tough call, as there are compelling arguments to be made for both keeping and removing an aspect of the story that brought very real consequences to the real-life Brockovich.
The film breathes new life into a tired format, moreso than could be expected. Hugely successful in commercial terms, Erin Brockovich represents a fine all-round achievement.
In keeping with films of this type, there is little scope for anything spectacular or untoward as far as sound or picture quality is concerned. Soderbergh has used a variety of mellow tones (as he did with Out Of Sight) and the overall effect is extremely easy on the eye. Thomas Newman‘s typically muted score is reminiscent of his other work, and music as a whole never overpowers what’s onscreen.
Unsurprisingly, DVD is the best way to fully appreciate the movie, with its comprehensive deleted scene section (complete with optional, and revealing commentary from Soderbergh) lasting more than 35 minutes. The disc also features interviews with the real-life Brockovich and Masry, which although brief are of curiosity value, while a slick 12-minute featurette offers the usual mix of footage and soundbites.
If you’ve seen clips of Erin Brockovich, or even the trailer, it’s likely to have given a slightly misleading impression, since the more robust moments – and a couple of those deleted sequences – are the ones most featured in the media. Typically, they don’t give the whole picture, and the actual film is likely to surprise a fair few people who might have expected something altogether less restrained and sermonising.
To think I almost gave this one a miss.
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Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.