Director Steven Soderbergh triumphs again!

Rating: 9/10 (13 March 2000)

When I first heard that Steven Soderbergh (my new favorite director after "Out of Sight" and "The Limey") was directing a Julia Roberts movie, I was worried. Would this be a big sell-out Hollywood picture? I was worried for no reason. Soderbergh comes through once again, and in a very big way. Like he did for George Clooney in "Out of Sight", Soderbergh also does for Julia Roberts: making a famed actor step out of their famous persona and instead become a very detailed character. Julia Roberts pulls in a great performance in this movie, for any reason but the fact that you don't get a constant reminder that you are watching "Julia Roberts". Erin Brockovich comes alive in a startling way and makes a fine counterpoint to the typical Julia Roberts role: she is brashy, trashy, strong but still utterly likeable. While many of the stylistic editing techniques that Soderbergh has used (most eloquently in "The Limey")have been toned down for this crowd-pleasing picture, they are still there. Fans of his previous movies will be pleased, and I daresay that Julia Roberts fans will be as well.