Albert Finney

In Erin Brockovich (2000), Albert Finney argues across a desk with Julia Roberts and makes his weariness almost as forceful as her determination. As Ed Masry, he plays a lawyer content with a small practice and appalled by the prospect of a large fight. We did not much mind the film's predictability, given how well these arguments work. These are the film's strongest scenes, and they show why we value him: he can be funny and difficult without asking to be liked.

That stubbornness had a younger face in Arthur Seaton, the rebellious factory worker of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). Finney's breakthrough drew on a strong physical presence and recognisably northern working-class roots. The title role in Tom Jones (1963) took him to international stardom; later, The Dresser (1983) cast him as Sir, an ageing Shakespearean actor. The appeal across such different parts is the sense of a man who does not need to ingratiate himself.

From the 1990s, character parts in international productions became a larger part of his film work, including Miller's Crossing (1990) and Erin Brockovich. The latter makes particularly good use of his ability to seem authoritative and put upon at the same time. Steven Soderbergh gives Masry a practical reason to relent: he hires Erin largely to stop her talking. Finney's tired, rumpled manner makes that decision plausible, and gives the comedy something more substantial than a boss being outwitted.

There are limits to what he can do for the film. It is predictable, and his presence cannot make the progress of the case surprising, however much pleasure there is in watching Masry's exasperation become pride. Roberts carries the story, but Finney ensures that her persistence has a stubborn colleague to contend with, and that the colleague remains worth our attention. Start here for the later Finney, with the caveat that the arguments are more interesting than the question of who will win.