Erin Brockovich (film)

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Erin Brockovich

Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Produced by Danny DeVito
Michael Shamberg
Stacey Sher
Written by Susannah Grant
Starring Julia Roberts
Albert Finney
Aaron Eckhart
Peter Coyote
Music by Thomas Newman
Cinematography Edward Lachman
Editing by Anne V. Coates
Distributed by - USA -
Universal Pictures
- non-USA -
Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) March 17, 2000
Running time 130 min.
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Budget $51,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Erin Brockovich is a 2000 movie which dramatizes the story of Erin Brockovich's first fight against the American West Coast energy giant Pacific Gas and Electric Company known as PG&E. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and featured actress Julia Roberts in the lead role for which she subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Actress. It is based on a true story and the real Erin Brockovich has a cameo appearance as a waitress named Julia. The original music score was composed by Thomas Newman.

The film was produced and distributed in North America by Universal Pictures, and was distributed overseas by Columbia Pictures.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother of three children who, after losing a personal injury lawsuit against a doctor in a car accident she was in, asks her lawyer, Edward L. Masry, if he can find her a job in compensation for the loss. Ed gives her work as a file clerk in his office, and she runs across some files on a pro bono case involving real-estate and medical records against Pacific Gas and Electric Company.

Erin begins digging into the particulars of the case, convinced that the facts simply do not add up, and persuades Ed to allow her further research. After investigation, she discovers a systematic cover-up of the industrial poisoning (Hexavalent chromium) of the town of Hinkley's water supply that threatens the health of an entire community. She finds that PG&E is responsible for the extensive illnesses residents of Hinkley have been diagnosed with and fights to bring the company to justice.

[edit] Box office

Made/produced in just 4 months (5 May - August 1999); in its opening weekend (19 March 2000) it grossed $28,138,465 on 2,848 movie screens in the USA. By August 2000 it grossed $125,548,685 in the U.S. Currently, its worldwide total stands at 256,500,000. It is also rated "R" in the United States but '15' in the UK.

[edit] Reception

The majority of critics responded favorably towards the film. It holds a certified "Fresh" rating of 83% on film review website Rotten Tomatoes.

[edit] Main cast

Actor Role
Julia Roberts Erin Brockovich
David Brisbin Dr. Jaffe
Dawn Didawick Rosalind
Albert Finney Edward L. Masry
Conchata Ferrell Brenda
Scotty Leavenworth Matthew Brockovich
Aaron Eckhart George
Marg Helgenberger Donna Jensen
Sarah Ashley Ashley Jensen
Cherry Jones Pamela Duncan
Veanne Cox Theresa Dallavale
Tracey Walter Charles Embry
Peter Coyote Kurt Potter
Randy Lowell Brian Frankel
Erin Brockovich Julia (cameo role as waitress in film)
James A. vanBuskirk lawyer (cameo role, local teacher in town where film takes place. Teacher to many of the local people depicted in film)

[edit] Accuracy

While the general facts of the story are accurate, there are some minor discrepancies between actual events and the movie, as well as a number of controversial and disputed issues more fundamental to the case. In the film, Erin Brockovich appears to deliberately use her cleavage to seduce the water board attendant to allow her to access the documents. Brockovich-Ellis has acknowledged that her cleavage may have had an influence, but denies consciously trying to influence individuals in this way.[1] In the film, Ed Masry represents Erin Brockovich in the car crash case. In reality, it was Jim Vititoe.[2] Brockovich had never been Miss Wichita. She had been Miss Pacific Coast. According to Brockovich, this detail was deliberately changed by Soderbergh as he thought it was "cute" to have her be beauty queen of the region from where she came.[1] One of the plaintiffs, Carol Smith, accused the movie of being "mostly lies".[1]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Chasing the Frog - Erin Brockovitch - Questioning the Story
  2. ^ Masry & Vititoe - Erin Brockovitch resumé

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
Films by Steven Soderbergh

sex, lies, and videotape (1989) • Kafka (1991) • King of the Hill (1993) • Underneath (1995) • Gray's Anatomy (1996) • Schizopolis (1996) • Out of Sight (1998) • The Limey (1999) • Erin Brockovich (2000) • Traffic (2000) • Ocean's Eleven (2001) • Full Frontal (2002) • Solaris (2002) • Eros (Equilibrium) (2004) • Ocean's Twelve (2004) • Bubble (2006) • The Good German (2006) • Ocean's Thirteen (2007) • The Argentine (2008) • Guerrilla (2008)