《Erin Brockovich》　永不妥协　弱女子的英雄壮举

No.082　《Erin Brockovich》　永不妥协　弱女子的英雄壮举

英文导读

Erin Brockovich is a 2000 biographical film directed by Steven Soderbergh. The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, played by Julia Roberts, who fought against the US West Coast energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

Erin Brockovich (Roberts) is a twice-divorced mother of three young children, who struggles to be taken seriously. While working as a file clerk in a small law firm, she stumbles upon a cover-up involving contaminated water in a nearby town which is causing devastating illnesses.

She convinces her boss (Finney) to allow her to investigate, and in the process uncovers the company causing the contamination. Although the local citizens are initially leery of becoming involved, Erin's brash manner and ability to speak to them clearly and frankly earns their trust. With over 600 plaintiffs signed up, the unlikely duo go on to win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action suit...$333 million.

The majority of critics responded favorably towards the film. It holds a certified"Fresh" rating of 83% on film review website Rotten Tomatoes and 73 metascore on Metacritic. In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, "We get the best of independent cinema and the best of mainstream cinema all in one package. Erin Brockovich, like Wonder Boys right before it, makes the year 2000 seem increasingly promising for movies". Newsweek magazine's David Ansen began his review with, "Julia Roberts is flat-out terrific in Erin Brockovich." Furthermore, he wrote,"Roberts has wasted her effervescence on many paltry projects, but she hits the jackpot this time. Erin, single mother of three, a former Miss Wichita who improbably rallies a community to take on a multibillion-dollar corporation, is the richest role of her career, simultaneously showing off her comic, dramatic and romantic chops".

Erin Brockovich was released on March 17, 2000, in 2,848 theaters and grossed $28.1 million on its opening weekend. It went on to make $126.6 million in North America and $130.7 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $256.3 million.

Erin Brockovich received numerous awards. The National Board of Review, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Film Critics Association voted Julia Roberts best actress of the year. The National Society of Film Critics voted Steven Soderbegh best director for his work on both Traffic and Erin Brockovich.

Erin Brockovich received four Golden Globe nominations including Best Dramatic Motion Picture, Best Dramatic Motion Picture Actress (Roberts), Best Director (Soderbergh) and Best Supporting Actor (Albert Finney). It won only one award for Best Dramatic Actress. The film received five Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director (Soderbergh), Best Actress (Roberts), Best Supporting Actor (Finney), and Best Original Screenplay (Susannah Grant). Roberts won Best Actress, the only Academy Award the film received. However, Soderbergh lost out to himself for his work on the film Traffic.

获奖情况

2001年第73届奥斯卡：最佳女主角奖，并荣获最佳影片提名、最佳导演提名、最佳男配角提名、最佳原创剧本提名。

影片信息

导演：史蒂文·索德伯格

编剧：苏珊娜·格兰特

主演：朱莉娅·罗伯茨、阿尔伯特·芬尼、康查塔·费雷尔、艾伦·艾克哈特

类型：剧情、爱情、传记

制片国家（地区）：美国

上映日期：2000-03-17（美国）

片长：130分钟

又名：《埃琳·布罗克维奇》《伊人当自强》《阿莲正传》

剧情简介

埃琳·布罗克维奇（朱莉娅·罗伯茨饰）是一位经历了两次离婚，并带着3个孩子的单身母亲。倒霉的她在遭到一场交通事故后，连志在必得的赔偿官司到最后都输掉了，一贫如洗的可怜女人到了走投无路的绝境。为她辩护的律师埃德（阿尔伯特·芬尼饰）半是同情埃琳，半是因为帮她打输了官司心感内疚，收留埃琳在他的律师楼里打杂。

一天，埃琳在一堆有关资产和债务的文件中偶然地发现了一些十分可疑的医药单据，这引起了她的困惑和怀疑。在埃德的支持下，埃琳开始对其展开调查。在调查中，埃琳发现了当地社区隐藏着的重大环境污染事件，污水中含剧毒物质，而供水公司却对此敷衍了事。弱女子埃琳决定用她柔弱的肩膀担负起为受污染的数百名居民讨回公道的重担。

埃琳和埃德在一家大型法律事务机构的帮助下，终于使污染事件得到了令人满意的赔偿，创造了美国历史上同类民事案件的赔偿金额之最，达3.33亿美元。埃琳正是用自己的无比坚韧的毅力，克服难以想象的困难，向世人证明了一个“弱女子”的价值，在人生的道路上开辟了一片新的天地。

制作花絮

剧组在拍摄过程中使用了两台摄影机。

本片制作设计师菲利普·墨西拿曾率队考察埃琳和埃德的办公室，服装设计师和道具部门也曾与两人多次会面，埃琳提供了一些真实的卷宗，埃德则提供了多种证书的复印件和职业生涯的纪念品。

朱莉娅·罗伯茨是左撇子，所以她必须学会用右手签名。

埃德·马斯瑞本人曾出现在餐馆的场景中。

片头的车祸场景是由数字技术合成的。

重点学习

She stumbles upon a cover-up involving contaminated water in a nearby town

Stumble upon是英语中的一个固定搭配，它是“偶然发现；无意中发现”的意思，比如：If you're lucky, you stumble upon a lifelong best friend by accident.（如果你足够幸运的话，没准你会偶然遇见一位终生的知心朋友。）

With over 600 plaintiffs signed up

Sign up是英语中的一个固定搭配，如果你sign up for an organization or if an organization signs you up, you sign a contract officially agreeing to do a job or course of study.也就是“和…签约；签约参加；报名参加（课程）”的意思，比如：He signed up as a flight attendant with Korean Air.（他与大韩航空公司签了约，当机乘人员。）

单词时间

dramatization[ˌdræmətaiˈzeiʃən] n. 编剧；改编成戏剧

corporation[ˌkɔ:pəˈreiʃən] n. 公司；法人（团体）；社团

clerk[klɑ:k] n. 职员，办事员；店员；书记；记账员

stumble[ˈstʌmbl] vi. 踌躇，蹒跚；失足；犯错

contaminated[kənˈtæmineitid] adj. 受污染的；弄脏的

leery[ˈliəri] adj. 机敏的；狡猾的；猜疑的；送秋波的

plaintiff[ˈpleintif] n. 原告

settlement[ˈsetlmənt] n. 解决，处理；结算；沉降；殖民

promising[ˈprɔmisiŋ] adj. 有希望的，有前途的

flat-out[ˈflætˈaut] adj. 直率的；坦白的；最高的

effervescence[ˌefəˈves (ə)ns] n. 冒泡；欢腾

paltry[ˈpɔ:ltri] adj. 不足取的；无价值的；琐碎的；卑鄙的

jackpot[ˈdʒækpɔt] n. 头奖；累积赌注；十分成功