Erin Brockovich is a 2000 American biographical legal drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who initiated a legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company over its culpability for the Hinkley groundwater contamination incident. Erin Brockovich premiered in Los Angeles on March 14, 2000, and was released theatrically in the United States by Universal Pictures on March 17, 2000, and internationally by Columbia Pictures. It emerged as a critical and commercial success, grossing $256.3 million worldwide.
The film received five nominations at the 73rd Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney). Roberts won Best Actress at the Academy Awards, BAFTA Awards, the Critics Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the SAG Awards. Additionally, the film won the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Director (for Soderbergh, also for Traffic) and the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Finney).
Plot
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In 1993, Erin Brockovich is an unemployed single mother of three living in Los Angeles, California. After being injured in a car crash with a doctor, she files a lawsuit. Her lawyer, Ed Masry, expects to win, but Erin's explosive courtroom behavior under cross-examination loses her the case, and Ed cannot return her phone calls afterwards. One day, he arrives at work to find her in the office, apparently working. She says he told her things would work out, but they did not, and that she needed a job. Sympathizing with Erin, Ed gets her a paid job at the office.
Erin is given files for a real estate case where the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is offering to purchase the home of Donna Jensen, a Hinkley resident. Erin is surprised to see medical records in the file and visits Donna, who explains that she had kept all her PG&E correspondence together. Donna appreciates PG&E's help: she has had several tumors, and her husband has Hodgkin's lymphoma, but PG&E has always supplied a doctor at their own expense. Erin asks why they would do that, and Donna replies, "Because of the chromium". Erin begins digging into the case and finds evidence that the groundwater in Hinkley is seriously contaminated with carcinogenic hexavalent chromium, but PG&E has been telling Hinkley residents that they use a safer form of chromium. After several days away from the office doing this research, she is fired by Ed until he realizes she has been working the entire time and sees what she has found, and rehires her.
Erin continues her research and, over time, visits many of the community's residents and wins their trust. She finds many cases of tumors and other medical problems in Hinkley. PG&E's doctors have treated everyone and think the cluster of cases is just a coincidence, unrelated to the "safe" chromium. The Jensens' claim for compensation grows into a major lawsuit, but the direct evidence only relates to PG&E's Hinkley plant, not to corporate management.
Knowing that PG&E could slow any settlement for years through delays and appeals, Ed takes the opportunity to arrange for disposition by binding arbitration, but a large majority of the plaintiffs must agree to this. Erin returns to Hinkley and persuades all 634 plaintiffs to go along. While she is there, a man named Charles Embry approaches her to say that he and his cousin were PG&E employees, but his cousin recently died from the poison. The man says he was tasked with destroying documents at PG&E, but "as it turns out," he "wasn't a very good employee".
Embry gives Erin the documents, which include a 1966 memo proving corporate headquarters knew the water was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, did nothing about it, and advised the Hinkley operation to keep this secret. The judge orders PG&E to pay a $333 million settlement to be distributed among the plaintiffs.
In the aftermath, Ed hands Erin her bonus payment for the case but warns her he has changed the amount. She explodes into a complaint that she deserves more respect, but is astonished and left speechless to find that he has increased it to $2 million.
Cast
Production
Development and writing
The idea for the film came to be when executive producer Carla Santos Shamberg happened to learn about Erin Brockovich's story due to sharing a chiropractor with her. Santos Shamberg invited Brockovich over to her house to share her story. Of their meeting, Santos Shamberg recalled: "I couldn't believe it. It seemed incredible that this twice-divorced woman with three young children, who had no money, no resources, and no formal education, had single-handedly put this case together. I thought she seemed like the perfect role model for the new millennium."
Brockovich sold the film rights to her story in 1997 and the film began development at Jersey Films. and Paul Attanasio to write the script, but after they passed, screenwriter Susannah Grant was hired. Grant, who was looking to do a "story about a kick-ass broad", secured a meeting with Brockovich in person. To ensure the script's accuracy, Grant said she spent weeks going over the trial transcripts, Hinkley water board records, and notes made by Brockovich during the investigation.
Filming
The film was shot in 1999 over eleven weeks, of which five took place in Ventura, California. Richard LaGravenese did an uncredited script polish.
Brockovich herself appears in the film as a waitress, while Edward Masry appears as a diner patron sitting behind her.
Erin Brockovich performed well with test audiences but executives at Universal Pictures were worried that audiences would be turned off by the title character's use of profane language.
Reception
Box office
Erin Brockovich was released in 2,848 theaters on March 17, 2000, and grossed $28.1 million on its opening weekend. It had the second-highest March opening weekend upon release, after Liar Liar. This was also the second-highest opening weekend for a Julia Roberts film, behind Runaway Bride. The film reached the number one spot during its first weekend, beating Mission to Mars and Final Destination. It made $18.5 million while declining by 34% for its second weekend while outgrossing Romeo Must Die, Here on Earth and Whatever It Takes. Then, Erin Brockovich collected $13.8 million in its third weekend, defeating The Road to El Dorado, The Skulls and High Fidelity. Overall, it spent a total of three weeks as the number one film until it was dethroned by Rules of Engagement. The film went on to make $125.6 million in North America, making it the tenth highest-grossing film domestically for the year 2000. It grossed $130.7 million internationally for a worldwide total of $256.3 million.
Critical response
On review website Rotten Tomatoes, Erin Brockovich holds an approval rating of 87% based on 192 reviews. The critics consensus reads, "Taking full advantage of Julia Roberts's considerable talent and appeal, Erin Brockovich overcomes a few character and plot issues to deliver a smart, thoughtful, and funny legal drama." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted score of 73 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.
In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, "We get the best of independent cinema and the best of mainstream cinema all in one package. Erin Brockovich, like Wonder Boys right before it, makes the year 2000 seem increasingly promising for movies". Newsweeks David Ansen began his review with, "Julia Roberts is flat-out terrific in Erin Brockovich." Furthermore, he wrote, "Roberts has wasted her effervescence on many paltry projects, but she hits the jackpot this time. Erin, single mother of three, a former Miss Wichita who improbably rallies a community to take on a multi-billion-dollar corporation, is the richest role of her career, simultaneously showing off her comic, dramatic and romantic chops". Rolling Stones Peter Travers wrote, "Roberts shows the emotional toll on Erin as she tries to stay responsible to her children and to a job that has provided her with a first taste of self-esteem". Robert Philpot of Fort Worth Star-Telegram gave it a three-and-a-half out of four rating, describing it as "a movie that uses a wicked sense of humor to examine serious themes. It's the kind of David-vs.-Goliath story told in The Insider and A Civil Action, but it drops the self-importance of those movies and replaces it with a refreshingly feisty attitude". In his review for Entertainment Weekly, Owen Gleiberman gave the film a "B+" rating and wrote, "It's a delight to watch Roberts, with her flirtatious sparkle and undertow of melancholy, ricochet off Finney's wonderfully jaded, dry-as-beef-jerky performance as the beleaguered career attorney who knows too much about the loopholes of his profession to have much faith left in it". Sight & Sounds Andrew O'Hehir wrote, "Perhaps the best thing about this relaxed and supremely engaging film (for my money the best work either the director or his star has ever done) is that even its near-fairytale resolution doesn't offer a magical transformation". Donald Munro of Fresno Bee gave it a "B+" rating and said, "We've indulged in the bash-the-big-bad-corporation genre before with such upstanding films as Silkwood, Norma Rae and A Civil Action -- but never have we had such rollicking fun doing it". In her review for The Village Voice, Amy Taubin wrote, "What's pretty original about the picture is that it focuses an investigative drama based on a true story around a comic performance".
However, film critic Roger Ebert gave the film a two-star review, writing, "There is obviously a story here, but Erin Brockovich doesn't make it compelling. The film lacks focus and energy, the character development is facile and thin". In his review for The New York Times, A.O. Scott wrote, "After proving, for about 40 minutes, what a marvelous actress she can be, Ms. Roberts spends the next 90 content to be a movie star. As the movie drags on, her performance swells to bursting with moral vanity and phony populism". Times Richard Corliss found the film to be "slick, grating and false. We bet it makes a bundle".
Writing about the film for its twentieth anniversary, critic Scott Tobias wrote in The Guardian, "With this film and Traffic the same year, Soderbergh would prove to be a master at connecting the dots without making it seem like an information dump. In Erin Brockovich, Roberts is the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down: as we learn about different types of chromium, the range of medical abnormalities, and the ins and outs of real estate documents and toxicology reports, she's ripping some poor suit with invective or using her body as a diversionary tactic. It never feels difficult to sort through the facts – and, more crucially, the emotional stakes of the case are never lost in them. That's Brockovich's gift. And that's Roberts', too."
Accolades
Julia Roberts became the first actress to win an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, Golden Globe Award, National Board of Review Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award for a single performance.
Steven Soderbergh received dual nominations for Best Director that year for both Erin Brockovich and Traffic, winning the award for the latter.
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! Award
! Category
! Nominee(s)
! Result
|-
| rowspan="5"| Academy Awards
| Best Picture
| Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| Amanda Awards
| Best Foreign Feature Film
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| American Film Institute Awards
| colspan="2"| Top 10 Movies of the Year
|
|-
| Artios Awards
| Outstanding Achievement in Feature Film Casting – Drama
| Margery Simkin
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Awards Circuit Community Awards
| Best Actress in a Leading Role
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
| Favorite Actress – Drama
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama
| Marg Helgenberger
|
|-
| BMI Film & TV Awards
| Film Music Award
| Thomas Newman
|
|-
| colspan="3"| Bogey Awards
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Film
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| rowspan="6"| British Academy Film Awards
| Best Film
| Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher
|
|-
| Best Direction
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Leading Role
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| Best Editing
| Anne V. Coates
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| rowspan="2"| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Chlotrudis Awards
| Best Supporting Actor
|
|-
| Costume Designers Guild Awards
| Excellence in Contemporary Film
| Jeffrey Kurland
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Critics' Choice Movie Awards
| colspan="2"| Top 10 Films
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Top 10 Films
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Best Film
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Directors Guild of America Awards
| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Edgar Allan Poe Awards
| Best Motion Picture
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| Empire Awards
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Environmental Media Awards
| colspan="2"| Feature Film
|
|-
| European Film Awards
| colspan="2"| Screen International Award
|
|-
| Florida Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| rowspan="4"| Golden Globe Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Drama
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Director – Motion Picture
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Golden Reel Awards
| Best Sound Editing – Dialogue & ADR, Domestic Feature Film
| Larry Blake and Aaron Glascock
|
|-
| Best Sound Editing – Sound Effects & Foley, Domestic Feature Film
| Michael Keller
|
|-
| Jupiter Awards
| Best International Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="5"| Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Susannah Grant and Richard LaGravenese
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| London Film Critics Circle Awards
| Director of the Year
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Actress of the Year
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| British Supporting Actor of the Year
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Make-Up Artists and Hair Stylists Guild Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Contemporary Hair Styling in a Feature-Length Motion Picture
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| MTV Movie Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Movie
|
|-
| Best Female Performance
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Line
| "Bite My Ass, Krispy Kreme"
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| National Board of Review Awards
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| National Festival of Dubbing Voices in the Shadow
| Best Female Voice (Film Award)
| rowspan="2"| Cristina Boraschi
|
|-
| Best Female Voice (Audience Award)
|
|-
| National Society of Film Critics Awards
| Best Director
| rowspan="2"| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Director
|
|-
| rowspan="6"| Online Film & Television Association Awards
| Best Picture
| Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| Best Film Editing
| Anne V. Coates
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Online Film Critics Society Awards
| colspan="2"| Top 10 Films
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| PEN Center USA West Literary Awards
| Best Screenplay
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| Producers Guild of America Awards
| Outstanding Producer of Theatrical Motion Pictures
| Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Political Film Society Awards
| colspan="2"| Exposé
|
|-
| colspan="2"| Human Rights
|
|-
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards
| Best Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| rowspan="5"| Satellite Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Motion Picture – Drama
|
|-
| Best Director
| Steven Soderbergh
|
|-
| Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Best Original Screenplay
| Susannah Grant
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Screen Actors Guild Awards
| Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
| Albert Finney
|
|-
| Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards
| colspan="2"| Best Picture
|
|-
| Teen Choice Awards
| Choice Movie Actress
| Julia Roberts
|
|-
| Writers Guild of America Awards
| Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen
| Susannah Grant
|
|}
American Film Institute recognition:
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains:
- Erin Brockovich – Hero No. 31
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – No. 73
Home media
The film was released on VHS and DVD on August 15, 2000.
A Blu-ray version debuted on June 5, 2012. Followed by a 4K Blu-ray in 2024.
Accuracy
On her website, Brockovich says the film is "probably 98% accurate". 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 has acknowledged that her cleavage may have had an influence, but denies consciously trying to influence individuals in this way. In the film, Ed Masry represents Erin Brockovich in the car crash case. In reality, it was his law partner, Jim Vititoe. 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 which she came.
George Halaby, played by Aaron Eckhart in the film, along with Brockovich's ex-husband Shawn Brown, alleged that she had an affair with Masry. They tried to extort $310,000 out of them by threatening to go public about the affair.
See also
- Dark Waters (2019 film)
Notes
References
Works cited
External links
- Erin Brockovich-Ellis' official site
- Story behind Erin Brockovich with pictures and primary sources from the actual case on which the film is based