| Hamlet Essay, Research Paper
Your typical Julia Roberts film tends to do what it says : big budget romance with that smile, and those legs. Open up Erin Brockovich, though, and inside is something radically new: a superlative character piece where you actually stop thinking about Julia Roberts, and immerse yourself in the travails and triumphs of trashy single mum Erin Brockovich and her legal crusade. Steven Soderbergh has directed this classy film, that is basically one woman s fight against corporate crime. With its slant on the corporate pollution of groundwater and the resulting health concerns, Erin Brockovich couldn\’t have been released at a better time. Uncertainty about contaminate drinking water have dominated the news in recent weeks, and aspects of this movie will undoubtedly strike a nerve for some viewers. After all, few things can be more insidious than impure water, since water is one of the natural resources we take for granted. Erin Brockovich is based on an actual case – a fact that makes the basic storyline all the more discomforting.The film opens with a car accident. The vehicle driven by Erin Brockovich (Roberts), an unemployed single mother of three, is broadsided by a speeding car at an intersection. She takes her case to lawyer Ed Masry (Finney), who agrees to represent her on a contingency basis. However, in court, Erin\’s surly manner and profane vocabulary do not endear her to the jury, which finds in the defendant\’s favor. Both Erin and Ed go home empty-handed. Still without work and needing to pay her bills, Erin tries an unusual approach to get a job: half-bullying, half-pleading with her former attorney for a position as a file clerk. With grave reservations, Ed relents. When a pro bono real estate case file comes across her desk, Erin becomes intrigued and begins investigating. She soon learns that the water supply of the property in question may have been contaminated with some compound, a \”highly toxic, highly carcinogenic\” compound that can get into a person\’s DNA. Erin\’s efforts uncover hundreds of potential victims of Pacific Gas & Electric\’s illegal dumping policy, and the information she puts together is convincing enough that Ed agrees to pursue the case. But fighting a $28 billion corporation in court is a daunting and expensive prospect, and Ed isn\’t sure he has the resources to see it through to the end. Meanwhile, the amount of time Erin is spending working is putting a strain on her relationship with her boyfriend (Aaron Eckhart) and keeping her away from her three children for lengthy periods of time. Erin Brockovich is a unique legal thriller in that, during an era when overplotted and contrived stories define the genre, this movie is not littered with plot devices designed exclusively to generate tension. With only a minor exception, Erin is not followed by shadowy figures. She does not become the target of violence and terroristic threats. Erin Brockovich\’s suspense does not arise from the likelihood that someone will do something to harm her or her family. This is the story of someone on the moral high ground fighting for what is right in a legal arena that too often favors those who have money to burn.
This movie is also very similar to what we have been taught in class about big corporations exploiting those whose voices cannot be heard by the general public. The crime committed by the big corporate companies in this movie falls under corporate crimes against consumers, and more specifically Environmental racism. Overall this movie was very inspirational, because it showed that if people take action against corporate crime, then there is hope for it to end.
|