Excellent true-life story

Rating: 9/10 (22 December 2000)

"Erin Brockovich" was a surprise to me. It surprised me of how much this movie pulled me into the story right from the beginning and kept my attention all the way to the end. But most importantly, it features a powerful, knockout performance by Julia Roberts in the title role. Oscar voters if you are reading this take note immediately: Roberts deserves to be nominated for Best Actress and deserves to win. This is probably the best work she's ever done. Roberts dominates this film by appearing in almost every scene. Erin Brockovich is a tough-as-nails mother of three who goes to work for a law firm run by an attorney (wonderfully played by Albert Finney) who represented her in a case at the beginning of the movie. She eventually stumbles upon a monumental law case against a giant corporation (PG&E). Erin decides to take on this company at any cost. She also gets plenty of help from her boss, and the two begin a memorable fight that ends up bringing a small town to its feet and a huge corporation to its knees. "Erin Brockovich" not only has a great performance by Roberts, but an excellent supporting performance by Finney as her boss, who early on hilariously tells his new employee about rethinking her wardrobe (love those outfits she wears). He should get an Oscar nomination too. Oscar nominations should also go to director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter Susannah Grant for bringing this movie to life and telling a compelling story (Soderbergh will definitely get a Best Director nomination but he'll probably be nominated for his current movie "Traffic", which is also generating Oscar talk). There are a couple of moments in "Erin Brockovich" that I could have done without, and if the movie had been about 15-20 minutes shorter, it would have been a great movie. Nevertheless, it comes close, and Roberts splendid acting here is the driving force behind the success of this movie. If she doesn't take home the Best Actress Oscar come this March and the award ends up going to someone else, I'm going to be very upset. SHE DESERVES IT!!!!! As for the rest of "Erin Brockovich", right from its smashing opening to its hilarious conclusion, it's a pretty darn good movie.
***1/2 (out of four)