Erin Brockovich (2000)

The real Erin Brockovich has said this 2000 Steven Soderbergh drama — which won Julia Roberts an Oscar for best actress — was “probably 98% accurate,” adding, “They took very few creative licenses.”

The film shows how Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three, got herself a job in a law firm and helped assemble a class action suit in which utility company Pacific Gas & Electric was accused of contaminating the drinking water in the small desert town of Hinkley, California. PG&E settled the case in 1996 for $333 million. It’s a very uplifting movie, but also one rooted in grim realities.

The film shows Brockovich using her wits, people skills, and maybe some low-cut tops to do what needed to be done.

“Yes, I did dress that way,” Brockovich wrote on her website. “I was actually taken back by the response of many people regarding my wardrobe. I just dressed that way because it was fun and I liked it. I was taught never to judge a book by its cover. My clothing was nothing more than a cover and I have never thought that anyone was smart or stupid or anything else by the way they chose to dress.”