PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com "We Put the SIN in Cinema"
It's one thing for an actor or an actress to pump out several films over a short period of time, but it's something else entirely when a director tries to tackle a similar task. And to have the films rank among the best of that period is a true testament to the director's talent.
In just over two years (twenty-five months, to be exact), director Steven Soderbergh has released Out of Sight, The Limey and his latest film, Erin Brockovich - a true story about a single mom that led the fight against a utility company which ultimately culminated in the largest settlement in a direct class-action lawsuit in U.S. history. Fans of Soderbergh, whose first film (Cannes winner sex, lies & videotape) is widely recognized as launching the renaissance of American independent film, may be surprised to see the director filming what appears to be a glossy Hollywood courtroom drama with a predictably linear story and a larger-than-life female star (Julia Roberts).
Although he's treading in all-too-familiar territory that isn't at all familiar to him, Soderbergh has crafted yet another winner with Brockovich, directing Roberts to her best performance yet. In fact, she's so good that it's a surprise that Universal didn't hold Brockovich's release until the end of the year – a season typically reserved for films competing for major year-end awards. Perhaps the studio couldn't help releasing the film on St. Patrick's Day, so that some crafty critic could whimsically declare `Go See Erin go-Brock-ovich.'
Roberts (Runaway Bride) stars as the titular Brockovich, a single L.A. mom with three kids, a roach-infested house, big hair, high heels, short skirts and low-cut tops. She has a beat-up Hyundai, empty cupboards, two deadbeat ex-husbands, no money, no job, no education and a wicked case of sass-mouth. The only thing this former Miss Wichita has going for her are her good looks and killer rack, but even they can't help Erin secure a settlement when she's broadsided by a doctor that runs a red light and creams her vehicle. With no insurance, Erin finds herself $17,000 in debt.
Desperate to find work, Erin turns to the attorney that handled her auto accident. She guilts Ed Masry (Albert Finney, Simpatico) into hiring her as a file clerk at his tiny, private law firm where, almost by chance, Erin stumbles onto a real estate file containing some ominous medical data concerning a giant utility company. Despite not knowing a lick about the law, Erin does some digging and finds out that Pacific Gas & Electric knowingly poisoned the water of a Mojave Desert burg called Hinkley. Through hard work, perseverance and a bunch of dumb luck, she's able to piece together a case against PG&E, signing up over six hundred plaintiffs in the process. The result is a battle between the $28 billion company and Roberts' $20 million smile (and who would you put your money on?).
As Erin's life becomes consumed by the Hinkley case, she begins to neglect her own family, leaning heavily on her new biker boyfriend George (a nearly unrecognizable Aaron Eckhart, Any Given Sunday). But she believes that the sacrifice is worth missing big chunks of her children's lives. For the first time, Erin feels like she is making a difference, befriending many of the Hinkley plaintiffs, including struggling mothers Marg Helgenberger (Species 2), Cherry Jones (Cradle Will Rock) and Mimi Kennedy (Dharma & Greg).
Soderbergh doesn't bog the film down with courtroom scenes, which makes the two-plus-hour film seem to fly by. The director used his brilliant cohorts - Sight editor Anne V. Coates and Limey cinematographer Edward Lachman - to film the Susannah Grant (Ever After) script, which, although extremely conventional, is well-written, fresh and often very funny. Some interesting casting – the real Brockovich plays a diner waitress in an early scene (her name tag says `Julia'), producer Michael Shamberg plays a PG&E lawyer, and Judge Leroy A. Simmons, the judge that handed down the 1993 decision that allowed the real-life suit to proceed, plays himself.
2:14 - R for adult language
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