PRETTY GUTSY WOMAN IN 'ERIN BROCKOVICH,' JULIA ROBERTS PLAYS IT STRAIGHT - EVEN IN A SHORT SKIRT.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Writer

After following the recent controversies revolving around the historical accuracy of movies like ``The Hurricane'' and ``The Insider,'' director Steven Soderbergh says he's glad he followed his gut while shooting his latest film, ``Erin Brockovich.''

``I promise you, there's nothing of any significance in the movie that's invented,'' Soderbergh says. ``That was important to me. I wanted to be able to defend the film and not have to backpedal every time somebody said, 'I heard this didn't happen.' ''

Fortunately for Soderbergh, the true story behind ``Erin Brockovich'' contained enough drama to make creative invention rather unnecessary. The film tells the story of how Brockovich, a legal investigator with no technical training, discovered how Pacific Gas and Electric had contaminated the groundwater in the tiny California desert town of Hinkley. With local residents contracting cancer and experiencing an array of serious health concerns, Brockovich convinces her boss, rumpled attorney Ed Masry, to pursue the case. The result: a record-setting $333 million settlement for the community.

While the movie's screenplay, written by Susannah Grant (with an uncredited rewrite by Richard LaGravanese) invents some characters and amalgamates others, it sticks remarkably close to the actual events. More significantly, it manages to capture the spirit of Brockovich herself, a twice-divorced mother of three, who's unapologetic about her blunt speech and revealing wardrobe.

Since Brockovich is played by Julia Roberts, the world's biggest female movie star (who came to the film with a record-setting $20 million payday), it would be natural to wonder if the actress's larger-than-life persona might overshadow the character.

The 67-year-old Masry, whose law practice is in Westlake Village, admits that when he heard Roberts had been cast, he thought ``the movie was going to be a disaster.'' His misgivings: Roberts was too sweet to say the sort of things that regularly came out of Brockovich's mouth.

He says he changed his mind once he saw the movie.

``The only difference between Julia and Erin is that Erin wore her skirts shorter,'' Masry says.

Roberts laughs at the sartorial comparison.

``I have something that I have in my closet that I call a dress, and then she has something in her closet that I call a 'dr---.' The whole `--ess' part that covers your ass isn't there,'' Roberts says.

As for the movie's fascination with underwire, Roberts says, ``It's more cleavage than God ever thought to give me.''

More seriously, Roberts says signing up to play Brockovich was a no-brainer given what she helped accomplish for the people in Hinkley.

``You take a situation like this, and a court environment: Files, water, people getting sick,'' Roberts says. ``She could have been a very quiet person, like, 'This doesn't seem right ... well, I don't know.' That's OK to play, but it's more fun to go 'What the f--- is this all about? This doesn't make any sense.' That's just more interesting. So yeah, the energy with which she approaches her life is really appealing as an actor.''

Soderbergh, speaking a bit like a schoolboy with an enormous crush, says Roberts has that same energy level.

``They're both very charismatic and funny, and they have this amazing life force,'' Soderbergh says. ``And beyond that, I felt that Julia would help the audience relate to Erin's dilemma. She's a person who cannot seem to reconcile how she sees herself with how others see her.''

Soderbergh sees ``Erin Brockovich'' as a coming-of-age story, not a courtroom thriller. This is in line with producer Carla Santos Shamberg's description of the movie as `` 'Rocky' in a miniskirt.'' The movie has only one brief courtroom scene, concentrating instead on the methods Brockovich and Masry used to accumulate evidence in the case.

Soderbergh also keeps a pretty low directorial profile, eschewing the temporal displacements that made his last two films, ``Out of Sight'' and ``The Limey,'' big hits with critics.

``It wasn't the kind of movie that required and demanded any flourishes or stylistic devices,'' Soderbergh says. ``And that was also part of its appeal to me, because I wanted to work on something where the direction would not be so apparent. It's a different set of disciplines. You work just as hard, and your grip on the movie is just as firm - it's just that you're hidden more.''

``I love that it's different than `The Limey,' '' Soderbergh continues, ``where I was standing between the audience and the screen, sort of waving my arms. This is the opposite of that. I just didn't want anything between Julia and the audience. And it seemed to me, again, that since this was based on a true story, it would be all for the better to have the audience feel like things were happening in front of them instead of being constructed.''

Roberts met her counterpart just once, on the day Brockovich showed up to film a cameo. Brockovich plays a waitress in a coffee shop; Masry can be seen in a booth next to Roberts. The name of Brockovich's uniform reads ``Julia.''

``I think the whole thing has been a little surreal for Erin, seeing your name on giant billboards and being played by Julia Roberts,'' Soderbergh says. ``But she is a pretty savvy person and has a great sense of perspective about the whole thing.''

Indeed, Brockovich has remarried and remains committed to her family and her legal career. Masry, who was close to retiring before taking on PG&E, now has eight cases pending, including another lawsuit against PG&E over pollution near their Kettleman, Calif., facility. More than 900 former residents and workers at PG&E plants are suing for personal injuries they say were caused by contaminated water. The trial is set for November.

Roberts, for one, can't wait for the outcome.

``She should be an inspiration for everybody,'' Roberts says, quick to add that she would discourage any and all comparisons between her philanthropy and, say, Paul Newman's. But that doesn't mean she doesn't have her own aspirations in that area.

``If anything, if you only extract one concept out of this movie, it should be that one person can make a difference in a situation that seems too enormous to even examine,'' Roberts says. ``It really is the idea that a waterfall starts with one drop of water. So if that's all you get from this movie than we've served a purpose.''

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) It takes the world's most famous actress to play larger-than-life 'Erin Brokovich' (Julia Roberts closeup)

Bernardo Alps/Staff Photographer

(2) no caption (Julia Roberts standing as Erin Brokovich)

(3) Julia Roberts plays a single mother with no professional legal training who joins forces with attorney Ed Masry (Albert Finney) to win the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action suit.

(4) '... I felt that Julia would help the audience relate to Erin's dilemma.'

--Steven Soderbergh, director of ``Erin Brockovich''