The Cinematheque showing that I choose to critique for the experiential component is Erin Brockovich, a film that came out on March 17, 2000 that stars Julia Roberts and is based on a true story. I have seen this movie a handful of times and find it to be very inspiring, the fact that it is based on a true story always makes a film better to me because it is intriguing and genuine. Personally, I love this movie and feel that it represents woman empowerment, but it is also more than that because it deals with important real world issues that we all should know about. The film is both educational, and heart retching, I truly recommend seeing it.
The movie was produced by Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, and Stacey Sher; co-produced by Gail Lyon; and the executive producers were John Hardy and Carla Santos Shamberg. The director of the film was Steven Soderbergh and written by Susannah Grant. The film is considered a combination of biography, drama, and romance, is rated R for language, and is 130 minutes long. The budget for Erin Brockovich was about $52,000.000, definitely a big budget film. Opening weekend in grossed $28,138,465, it then played in theaters until August 6, 2010 and grossed a total of $125,548,685.
The plot of the movie is as follows. Erin Brockovich, played by Julia Roberts, is an unemployed single mother of three who is desperate to find a job, but isn’t having the best luck. After getting in a car accident Erin gets a lawyer and files a lawsuit, but when she gets nothing and is even more desperate she asks her lawyer to give her a job in compensation for the losses, and after persistent determination he concedes. However, no one at the office takes her seriously because of the revealing trashy clothing and manners, but as the movie goes on and Erin begins to investigate a suspicious real estate case involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company this begins to change. What she eventually discovers is that the company is trying to quietly buy land that is contaminated by a deadly toxic waste that the company is improperly and illegally dumping which is in turn, poisoning the residents in the surrounding area. As the case grows and more is revealed Erin becomes the key component in involving her law firm in one of the biggest class action lawsuits in American history against a multi-billion dollar corporation. Erin is very determined and a hard worker, but it is still hard to balance a full time demanding job with three kids and a boyfriend. It is a bit of a bumpy road for Erin for awhile. In the end Erin and her boss, lawyer Ed Masry win the case and are able to help the families that were affected. Erin continues to work at the law firm and is able to support her family.
Erin is the protagonist in the film and the antagonist in the company that she is investigating, Pacific Gas & Electric Company. As far as the shots and angles go for this film Erin wears very revealing clothing so sometime the angles accentuate that, but overall the camera angles, I found to be, very typical of a drama they change a lot to empathies certain moments and emotions. From the beginning to the end of the film Erin definitely changes in some ways, but in others she says the same. I would say that she became more manure refined and self confident; she gained a lot of respect from her colleagues as well. However, Erin didn’t change the qualities that helped her to win the case which was her compassion to help others, her determination, and her strength. Erin is a great role model and example of someone who went from nothing to something. In real life Erin has now been in the law field for 19 years and is continuing to make a difference in the lives of many.
