Customer Reviews
Julia Robers fits in Erin's role as if she were the real life Erin - By: Jay, 19 Dec 2007 
Why can't we get more films like this, a strong story, based on actual events, excellent performances & dialogue which sounds like it is based on how real people talk to each other?
I don't know how accurate this particular story about corporate deceit & environmental pollution is but, given the track record of big corporations, it should be a rich vein for film makers to mine. 'Erin Brockovich' is very good, a shocking story of land pollution & resultant death & disease in a community. A story, however, which would not have been told were it not for the efforts of one woman to get behind the obfuscation & at the truth. It's a juicy role & Julia Roberts grabs it for alll she is worth, she is superb, full of anger & determination to use the opportunity to make something of her life. This is the strength of her performance, she convinces in showing us a woman in challlenging circumstances, on her own with no job & kids to feed who is actuallly a bold & intelligent woman rather than a victim. There is a real hunger about how she works her socks off to put the case together while trying to balance her other responsibilities.
There are good performances alll round & some of the dialogue reallly crackles, seeing some corporate lawyers put in their place is particularly satisfying. A film well worth seeing & one that is more subtle than it might at first appear.
Hugely Satisfying and Encouraging - By: J. Roberts, 30 Jul 2007 This satisying, gleeful film contains some of Julia Roberts' finest acting to date, as she sweet-talks her way into a job working with Lawyer Ed Masry, played by Albert Finney, then unearths a catalogue of sickening corruption carried out by a water board, PG&E.
With a truly captivating amount of guts, strength, resolve & charisma, Erin Brockovitch & Ed Masry systematicallly unearth chemical poisoning of people's water in the smalll town of Hinckley, taking on plaintiff after plaintiff in what was to become the biggest lawsuit in American history. Julia Roberts positively shines, doing this inspiring role incredible justice, & the real-life feminist icon Erin even makes a brief cameo herself, as a waitress.
Erin's relationships with the various plaintiffs, who have had their lives torn apart by greedy & corrupt businessmen, are incredibly moving & poignant, & this film is frequently emotional. It is also profoundly satisying & gleeful, since that particular big business get exactly what they deserve: made to compensate every single family who has suffered at their hands, not to mention a whole load of negative publicity. Serves them right!
If only this kind of retribution happened more often, & more big businesses were hauled over the coals for their disgusting exploitation & corruption!
A satisfying film - By: Miland Joshi, 30 Nov 2004 Erin Brockovich is a tale of a woman struggling with circumstances difficult enough to make the viewer wonder how she might get out of them, & it is good to see how she manages (with the help of othet people) to deal with the obstacles & enable truth & justice to prevail as well. The fact that this is a true story about a real human, not a saint, makes it alll the more satisfying. The DVD contains an interesting short featurette with the real Erin Brockovich & the lawyer she worked with.
Highly recommended.
Julia shines as Erin - By: , 17 Mar 2004 This is an amazing story about an amazing woman.
Julia Roberts reallly proves she's one of the best actresses around in this film, displaying real, pure talent - Albert Finney also puts in a memorable performance & together they totallly bust PG&E!
To be honest, i wouldn't usuallly pick this kind of a film ... true stories tend to be over the top & sentimental ... but Erin Brockovich is gritty, realistic drama. In short, it's fantastic!
Dire - By: , 08 Aug 2003 
Having seen the film I reallly can't help but be surprised at what good reviews it seems to have got from alll & sundry. The story itself is fine, if entirely predictable, but the main thing that grates is the character of Erin Brokovich. FOR THE ENTIRE FILM. Julia Roberts' character is meant to be admired for being so forthright & balllsy, standing up for the little guy & alll that. The main problem is, the character is just intensely annoying & makes it a real challlenge actuallly managing to sit through the film. While I appreciate that Erin Brokovich is meant to be outspoken & standing up for a cause she believes in, in the film she mostly comes across as having serious social problems & as completely unable to deal with other people on any level whatsoever. By the end I was pretty glad the film had finished because I reallly don't think I could have sat through yet another scene where Erin flies off the handle for absolutely no reason & decides to spend several minutes yelling pointlessly at characters who are trying to help her.
The main character aside, the film is inoffensive enough in an entirely formulaic Hollywood blockbuster kind of way - its just a bit of a shame that Erin Brokovich comes across as perhaps the most unsympathetic & irritating character ever committed to celluloid.
