Brought in to helm Erin Brockovich with leading lady Julia Roberts
already on board, the studied approach he applied to the project reaps
major dividends. Not only does he elicit possibly the finest performance
of Roberts' career to date, there is also a pleasing ambience and tone
to this picture which sets it apart from the majority of big-studio
fare.
Several of the year's most memorable films worked within the Hollywood
framework whilst leaning towards a slightly unorthodox style and
vibrancy usually associated with the smaller, "alternative" scene. This
is not merely coincidental, since the likes of David Fincher
(Fight Club),
David O. Russell
(Three Kings),
Spike Jonze
(Being John Malkovich)
and Soderbergh himself all began on the fringes, plying their
trade via a series of challenging, left-field movies that allowed them
free creative reign.
Now backed by bigger Studios and faced with a wealth of higher-profile
stars eager to collaborate, they are helping to revive a stale industry
with accessible, assured yet still provocative work. Erin Brockovich is
the subtlest example so far of this sea-change, as Soderbergh's inherent
sensibilities turn what could so easily have been a cliched slice of
corporate cover-up into a surprisingly involving 2 hours of classy
cinema.
As the rumours of a forthcoming Oscar nod suggest, Julia Roberts is
superb in the title role. All her natural appeal is highlighted, with
everything ideally suited to bringing out the best in her abilities.
She's never been so sympathetically filmed, and it's credit again to
Soderbergh that the warm hues and atmospheric cinematography - as well
as the excellent script - remind everyone of a Julia Roberts far from
the pasty-faced freak that some of her recent films have unfortunately
had the effect of showing. She glows, sparkles and just about charms the
socks off everyone.
Erin Brockovich is a woman who's regained self-belief, self-worth, and
earned the respect from others that she never felt came her way until
the life-changing experience deatiled here. Selfless in her desire to
right the terrible wrong inflicted upon innocent small-town folk, she is
never portrayed as a saint. She is a person anyone can believe in or
identify with (however remotely), and Roberts captures that quality
almost effortlessly.
She's supported all the way by marvellous turns from Albert Finney as Ed
Masry - her beleagured boss (and accomplice), and Aaron Eckhart in a
career-making performance as the man caught in the emotional crossfire
of Brockovich's deepening involvement in her battle for justice. Look
out, too, for a brief cameo from the real Erin Brockovich as a Burger
Joint waitress.
The plot contains few surprises or twists. Real-life drama rarely has
the convoluted and often ridiculous developments of so many fictional
tales, and far from being Erin Brockovich's downfall it actually proves
to be its strength.
For Soderbergh has shown astute awareness in his thoughtful editing
process, eschewing scenes that - in the grand scheme of things - either
delay the narrative's progression or else proved superfluous once the
need for a condiserable shortening of the film's length became apparent.
He still felt the eventual running was perhaps five minutes more than
ideal, but any further cropping would, in his opinion, have been
impossible to undertake without detrimentally affecting the film.
It's a fair assessment, since what does remain of the original 3 hours
and 10 minute cut invests Erin Brockovich with a taut, evenly-paced
sense of purpose. The almost customary tinkering with the facts is
admirably minimal here, Soderbergh reluctant to "creatively" distort the
truth for the sake of dramatic impact. One sequence in particular,
included among the DVD's deleted footage - Roberts' discovery of the
polluted area as her own children play in the earth nearby - would not
have been cut by most directors yet Soderbergh was uneasy with its
deviation from the actual event it depicted. While a very potent and
cinematic scene, he considered its fictionalised nature to be unfairly
misleading.
On the other hand, a crucial subplot concerning Erin's own health
problems - resulting directly from her exposure to the toxicity during
the case - was left on the cutting-room floor. Soderbergh reasons that
it would distract the audience, and possibly even lead them to believe
the film was turning into a disease movie in its second half. A tough
call, as there are compelling arguments to be made for both keeping and
removing an aspect of the story that brought very real consequences to
the real-life Brockovich.
The film breathes new life into a tired format, moreso than could be
expected. Hugely successful in commercial terms, Erin Brockovich
represents a fine all-round achievement.
In keeping with films of this type, there is little scope for anything
spectacular or untoward as far as sound or picture quality is concerned.
Soderbergh has used a variety of mellow tones (as he did with
Out Of Sight)
and the overall effect is extremely easy on the eye. Thomas
Newman's typically muted score is reminiscent of his other work, and
music as a whole never overpowers what's onscreen.
Unsurprisingly, DVD is the best way to fully appreciate the movie, with
its comprehensive deleted scene section (complete with optional, and
revealing commentary from Soderbergh) lasting more than 35 minutes. The
disc also features interviews with the real-life Brockovich and Masry,
which although brief are of curiosity value, while a slick 12-minute
featurette offers the usual mix of footage and soundbites.
If you've seen clips of Erin Brockovich, or even the trailer, it's
likely to have given a slightly misleading impression, since the more
robust moments - and a couple of those deleted sequences - are the ones
most featured in the media. Typically, they don't give the whole
picture, and the actual film is likely to surprise a fair few people who
might have expected something altogether less restrained and
sermonising.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
