Wow

Rating: Null/10 (28 March 2000)

After watching Julia Roberts in "Notting Hill" and "My Best Friend's Wedding", where the secondary characters were the only thing actually worth anything, I was not expecting much from yet another film starring this overpaid actress. Boy, I was wrong. She deserves every penny of her salary. With this movie, Roberts strikes gold and, unless several magic movies shows up along the year, she'll probably land her first Oscar nomination. The same goes for Albert Finney (not his first, but another one). But, just as with "Shakespeare in Love", a chick flick that guys could enjoy, the script is the real star of this movie. A perfectly crafted hollywood product, but with enough surprises, heart and great dialogue to reach out to today's hypercritical audiences. In the hands of the director Steven Soderbergh, who is showing more and more talent with each film he makes (Out of Sight, The Limey, etc), the film never looses its entertainment value. Does it mean that it's a perfect movie? No. Things that did not quite work all the time are Erin Brockovich's personal life and romantic relationship (some scenes are extremely touching, others don't ring true), and some of the lawyers that are comic stereotypes. But it is the focus that this movie places on personal conflicts and people themselves that rises this product way and above a similar themed movie like "A Civil Action". Erin Brockovich has all the strength of a Norma Rae of the 21st century.