In 'Brockovich,' Justice Prevails By Michael O'Sullivan Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, March 17, 2000

Julia Roberts stars as "Erin Brockovich." (Universal)

Like a slab of chocolate cake with whipped cream and a cherry on top, the factuality of a story of evil punished and good rewarded is made so much the better by the way in which the truth is presented. Occasionally, even real-life tales of the long-suffering little guy (or gal) triumphing over the callous indifference of an unprincipled corporation or government bureaucracy are marred by the fact that the victory is a hollow one in which the hero becomes a martyr before ever tasting victory (e.g., "Silkwood"). Sometimes, the legal issues are so Byzantine that the battle wallows in the courtroom, reducing what is essentially a human drama to an episode of a TV series about lawyers (e.g., "A Civil Action").

In "Erin Brockovich," director Steven Soderbergh's fact-based account of the quixotic fight between the residents of a small California town and the power company that poisoned them, we get to have our cake and eat it, too. And, man, does it taste sweet.

The cherry on top of this particular slice of cake is Julia Roberts, who, as the title character – a twice-divorced, unemployed mother of three who cusses like a sailor and dresses like a hooker – gives a vibrant, funny and muscular performance. Roberts is so unself-conscious, so free of the cheap accents and trailer-trash superficialities affected by movie stars when they go slumming (which only call attention to the actor), that it's easy to forget you're watching a performance. She immerses herself with obvious relish in the role of Erin, the real-life live wire who blustered her way into a clerical job with the small law firm of Masry and Vitito when her own lawyer, Ed Masry (Albert Finney), failed to win her a settlement in a negligent driver case, thereby enabling her to stumble onto an even greater injustice.

While filing paperwork for a case involving the purchase by PG&E (Pacific Gas and Electric) of homes adjacent to its Hinkley, Calif., plant, Erin is perplexed to discover medical records associated with what looks to be a routine real estate transaction. Masry then gives Erin permission to do some snooping on her own (actually, he's just anxious to get her out from underfoot), and while she's poking around in county water records, Erin learns that the company has lied to residents about its use of the chemical chromium-6 as a rust inhibitor – which may explain the high rate of cancers, miscarriages and dead frogs in the neighborhood.

Although this is a drama about a famous court case (the final settlement of the lawsuit brought on behalf of 634 local plaintiffs broke all previous records), very little of it takes place in front of a judge. And Ed Masry is not the hero here, although Finney does a great job as a retirement-ready ambulance-chaser whose gruff exterior hides an even gruffer interior. It's Erin's story and the story of the average Joes and Janes in Hinkley whom she befriends and whose cause transforms her life. It's also the story of her family, raised mostly with the assistance of George (Aaron Eckhart), Erin's ponytailed, biker, next-door neighbor and boyfriend who plays Mr. Mom while she totters off in three-inch heels and a denim miniskirt to slay Goliath.

Surprisingly for director Soderbergh – whose last two films ("The Limey" and "Out of Sight") played with conventional narrative structure – "Erin Brockovich" is a fairly straightforward yarn. At heart, the script by Susannah Grant is driven by character, not plot, and as such it's largely dependent on its cast, not its director. Nevertheless, Soderbergh, who has always made effective use of silence, shines in one exquisitely understated scene in which a grieving resident of Hinkley howls – soundlessly – over the death of a family member.

Throughout, there's a healthy amount of legal mumbo jumbo and lawyerly strategizing, but where "Erin Brockovich" succeeds best and is most touching is in its emphasis on the personal, not the juridical. Erin not only teaches Ed the value of sharing a cup of coffee with his clients if he wants them to trust him, but she teaches herself (and, by extension, us) what can be accomplished if you believe in something, especially if that something is yourself.

Yeah, in the wrong hands that moral is hokey as all get out, but deep down, you know it's also satisfying as heck. In the end, "Erin Brockovich" is less about punitive damages and compensation and sticking it to The Man than it is about the difference each one of us makes.

ERIN BROCKOVICH (R, 131 minutes) – Contains frequent obscenity and encounters with heroic sick people.