Well, after
several evenings of enjoying light-hearted bits of fluff, I decided to get
serious – and dialed up Erin Brockovitch as
my next Golden Oldie. I was only a
little disappointed.
As you
almost certainly know, this was Julia Robert’s movie, almost entirely. She portrays a poorly educated unmarried
mother of three with unlimited chutzpah, boundless
self-confidence, and great legs. Viewing
her performance here reminded me of something I once wrote about Steve
Jobs. To paraphrase: I am glad there are Erin Brockovichs in the
world, and I thank God I was never married to one!
So, Erin
takes on the perfect foil: PG&E, a
faceless corporation widely despised for, amongst other sins, starting forest
fires. One notes with pleasure that
their stock has halved in value in the past several years, and nobody is
predicting it to rise. Apparently a
division of PG&E managed to poison the drinking water of a small California
desert town, with all sorts of hideous consequences. It seems that the story told here is based on
historical fact, at least in part.
Two
supporting actors, Albert Finney and Aaron Eckhart, do a commendable job. But, as I said earlier, Roberts is nearly the
whole show. And, with her short skirts
and high-heels, she is quite some story!
So, most of
this flic is a deep downer, but it is rescued to some extent by an upbeat
ending. If you hate all faceless
corporations – I have my Michigan relatives in mind – you may derive great
satisfaction out of Erin Brockovitch;
otherwise, like me, you will turn with relief back to harmless bits of
cinematic fluff. C+
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