Film study sheet · 4 of 11
Erin Brockovich
Cultural concept: Environmental justice
Steven Soderbergh · 2000 · a single mother with no legal training uncovers groundwater pollution in a desert town and takes on a giant utility.
Open the full film study Official trailer
Created by Madame Carole Paoli Pompougnac · https://trame-lycee.netlify.app/films/erin-brockovich.html
Film credits
| Title | Erin Brockovich (USA, 2000) |
|---|---|
| Director | Steven Soderbergh |
| Screenplay | Susannah Grant |
| Producers | Danny DeVito, Michael Shamberg, Stacey Sher |
| Cast | Julia Roberts (Erin Brockovich), Albert Finney (Ed Masry), Aaron Eckhart (George), Marg Helgenberger (Donna Jensen), Peter Coyote (Kurt Potter), Cherry Jones (Pamela Duncan), Veanne Cox (Theresa Dallavale). The real Erin Brockovich and Ed Masry make brief appearances. |
| Cinematography | Ed Lachman |
| Editing | Anne V. Coates |
| Music | Thomas Newman |
| Distributors | Universal Pictures (USA), Columbia TriStar (international) |
| Running time | 131 minutes |
| Release (USA) | 17 March 2000 |
| Rating | R, language |
| Awards | 73rd Academy Awards (2001): 5 nominations, 1 Oscar, Best Actress (Julia Roberts); nominations for Best Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Albert Finney), Original Screenplay |
Film language, with examples from the official trailer
Timecodes refer to the official trailer and are approximate (± 5 s): versions online may differ slightly.
Shots
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| establishing shot / extreme long shot | shows the place; people look tiny |
| long shot | a whole body in its setting |
| medium shot | from the waist up |
| close-up | a face fills the frame: emotion |
| extreme close-up | a detail: eyes, a hand, an object |
| two-shot | two characters in one frame: a relationship |
| over-the-shoulder shot | we watch one character through another’s position |
- ≈0:03close-up on Erin at a job interview: talking fast, all energy
- ≈1:57extreme long shot of a straight desert road with power poles: Hinkley’s isolation
- ≈0:57framing through window blinds: someone is watching, a world of secrets
Angles
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| eye level | neutral, we are equal with the character |
| high angle | camera above: the character looks small or weak |
| low angle | camera below: the character looks powerful |
| canted (Dutch) angle | tilted frame: unease, a world out of balance |
| bird’s-eye view | straight down from above |
- ≈1:15low angle on Erin taking a photo against a wide blue sky: she becomes a strong investigator
- ≈2:03shot / reverse shot at eye level across a meeting table: two sides face each other
Camera movement
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| pan | the camera turns horizontally |
| tilt | the camera moves up or down |
| tracking shot | the camera travels with a character or a car |
| zoom | the lens brings us closer |
| handheld camera | shaky, urgent, documentary feel |
| crane / aerial shot | the camera flies above the scene |
- ≈1:09handheld camera follows Erin walking fast through an office
Lighting & colour
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| high-key lighting | bright, few shadows: optimism |
| low-key lighting | dark, strong shadows: tension, mystery |
| backlighting | light behind a character: a halo or a silhouette |
| natural light | sun, windows, candles |
| colour palette | the dominant colours of the film |
- ≈1:57sandy, dusty yellow tones for the desert
- ≈0:27warm lamp light at a kitchen table at night: exhaustion, family life
- ≈2:03cold, neutral office light in the meeting room: the world of corporate lawyers
Sound
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| diegetic sound | the characters can hear it (a radio, a piano on stage) |
| non-diegetic sound | only the audience hears it (the score, a narrator) |
| voice-over | a voice we hear over the images |
| score | music composed for the film |
| silence | no sound: a shock, a pause |
| sound bridge | a sound that continues into the next scene |
- whole trailerthe song “Everyday Is a Winding Road” (Sheryl Crow) carries the rhythm
- ≈2:14a line with a double meaning about water, the punchline of a scene
Editing
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| cut | a direct change of shot |
| cross-cutting | alternating between two places or stories |
| montage | a fast series of shots that compresses time |
| fade to black | the image disappears: an ending, a pause |
| intertitle | text on screen between images |
| slow motion | time slows down: importance, emotion |
- ≈0:15the actress’s name written on screen like handwriting
- whole trailerfast cuts between comedy and serious investigation
- ≈2:03 → 2:15shot / reverse shot: a duel of words
Step into the period
Daily life
- Early 1990s: fax machines, paper files, photocopiers, pagers; no smartphones
- Research means driving, knocking on doors and reading files in public offices
- Childcare is a daily problem for a working single parent
Music
- Pop-rock and country of the 1990s; Sheryl Crow in the trailer
- Thomas Newman’s light guitar score
Fashion
- Erin’s bold style, short skirts, high heels, big hair, shocks the conservative office
- Suits and ties for lawyers; work clothes and caps in Hinkley
Places
- The San Fernando Valley and Los Angeles law offices
- Hinkley, a small community in the Mojave Desert, San Bernardino County
- The PG&E Hinkley compressor station, about two miles southeast of town
Historical landmarks
- 1952 PG&E starts using hexavalent chromium against corrosion at its Hinkley compressor station (the Water Board gives 1952; the LA Times dates the case to 1951).
- 1952 to 1966 Wastewater is discharged into unlined ponds; part of it reaches the groundwater.
- 1970 The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is created.
- 1972 The Clean Water Act becomes law.
- 1974 The Safe Drinking Water Act protects public drinking water.
- 1987 7 December: PG&E informs the local Water Board of the chromium contamination.
- 1993 Erin Brockovich, a legal clerk for Ed Masry, investigates; more than 600 Hinkley residents file a lawsuit against PG&E (Anderson et al. v. PG&E).
- 1994 to 1996 Binding arbitration: awards of about $121 million to the first 39 plaintiffs, under a $400 million cap.
- 1996 2 July: PG&E agrees to pay $333 million to about 650 plaintiffs.
- 2000 17 March: Erin Brockovich is released.
- 2001 Julia Roberts wins the Oscar for Best Actress.
- 2014 1 July: California sets a drinking-water limit for chromium 6 (10 µg/L).
- 2017 A court invalidates this limit.
- 2024 California adopts a new limit of 10 µg/L (effective 1 October 2024).
Sources: Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board · Los Angeles Times, 3 July 1996 · California State Water Resources Control Board
Sentence starters for your sheet
- The extreme long shot of the desert road suggests…
- The shot / reverse shot builds…
- In the early 1990s, investigating meant…
To close: a place, then exchange
Where is each character’s place at the start and at the end? Then: political · emotional · general interest · human rights, then go deeper: what passes between the characters, and who do they become?
From the place they find or lose, the deepest exchange in this film is…