She brought a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees.
Overview
A twice-divorced mother of three who sees an injustice, takes on the bad guy and wins -- with a little help from her push-up bra. Erin goes to work for an attorney and comes across medical records describing illnesses clustered in one nearby town. She starts investigating and soon exposes a monumental cover-up.
Ratings
Curator score: 7.7/10
IMDb: 7.5/10
Letterboxd: 3.89/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 87%
Metacritic: 73
TMDB: 7.4/10
Director
Steven Soderbergh
Production
Jersey Films
Cast
Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, Aaron Eckhart, Marg Helgenberger, Cherry Jones, Veanne Cox, Conchata Ferrell, Tracey Walter, Peter Coyote, Michael Harney, Scarlett Pomers, Scotty Leavenworth, Gina Gallego, T.J. Thyne, Valente Rodriguez, Erin Brockovich, David Brisbin, Dawn Didawick, George Rocky Sullivan, Pat Skipper
Curator Review
Verdict
A sharp, crowd-pleasing underdog drama with real bite: Julia Roberts gives the movie its engine, and Soderbergh turns a corporate pollution case into something funny, propulsive, and satisfying. It’s especially rewarding if you like competence porn, righteous crusades, and charismatic lead performances.
Best for
fans of based-on-true-story dramas
viewers who like strong female leads
people who enjoy workplace and legal procedural energy
audiences who want an uplifting David-vs-Goliath story
Skip if
you want a dark, austere legal drama
you dislike broad, star-driven performances
you prefer subtle, low-key storytelling
you are looking for a twist-heavy or action-driven plot
Overview
Erin Brockovich works because it understands that outrage is more engaging when it’s carried by personality. The movie gives Julia Roberts a role built for momentum: she’s brash, funny, stubborn, and impossible to ignore, and the film keeps finding new ways to let her turn indignation into action. It’s a true-story drama, but it plays with the energy of a crowd-pleaser rather than a lecture.
Worth noting
Steven Soderbergh keeps the storytelling clean and efficient, letting the investigation unfold through conversations, paperwork, and pressure rather than melodrama. That makes the victories feel earned. The supporting cast is strong, especially Albert Finney, and the movie’s mix of humor, grit, and moral clarity gives it a lasting rewatchability.
Bottom line
What lingers most is the film’s faith in ordinary persistence. It’s about a woman who is underestimated, dismissed, and constantly forced to prove herself, yet keeps pushing until the truth becomes impossible to ignore. The result is one of the most satisfying corporate-accountability dramas of its era.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Patrick Willems (4★) · 6731 likes
I am always here for movies that are mostly about people doing their jobs very well.
nathan (4★) · 6208 likes
you’re not born gay. your mother leaves her vhs copy of erin brokovich lying around and you watch it as a six year old, getting to the line “that's all you got, lady, two wrong feet in fucking ugly shoes” and there’s no returning to the heterosexual lifestyle.
júlia (4.5★) · 5306 likes
she graduated from the university of servington with a masters degree in cuntology and a concentration in motherlogical studies
lola gumball (4.5★) · 4753 likes
her confidence .... her aura .... i am an inspired woman
1997 · Drama, Crime, Thriller · 2h 15m · PG-13 · Curator 5.7/10 (158.1K ratings) · Where to watch: Paramount Plus Essential
A David-vs-Goliath legal drama that emphasizes idealism, pressure, and public-interest law.
Topics
legal drama, based on a true story, corporate thriller, female-led, workplace competence, small-town injustice, crowd-pleaser, 2000s drama, social issue film