Silkwood

Starring: Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Craig T. Nelson, Fred Ward, Diana Scarwid, Ron Silver, Bruce McGill, David Strathairn, M. Emmet Walsh
Directed by: Mike Nichols
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
1983

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A worker (Meryl Streep) at a plutonium processing plant pushes back against safety violations, but finds many who want to silence her.

Review:

Tim: I'm really very thankful I watched Silkwood. It's not a movie I knew about- I happened to see a scene during an awards show tribute to Meryl Streep and thought it looked interesting. I'm surprised this movie isn't more widely known today- it was nominated for five Academy Awards and is a thoroughly entertaining, enlightening movie. I very much enjoyed this film.

There's so much to unpack in this based-on-a-true story film. Meryl Streep plays Karen Silkwood, a woman who worked at a plutonium processing plant in Oklahoma in the 1970s. She became an outspoken activist, regarding safety concerns at the plant. Her story is a fascinating way for us to examine the nuclear plant industry in the United States. This was still a fairly new area and scientists didn't have the same understanding of radiation poisoning, how to avoid it, and how to prevent accidents. It's pretty amazing to watch these workers dealing with one of the most dangerous substances on the planet and the sometimes cavalier attitude towards the health and safety risks they exposed themselves to. Director Mike Nichols does a fantastic job of bringing us into this world and seeing the culture of the nuclear facility. Not only do we learn about the characters here, but their work is such a big, interesting part of the overall film.

I really liked how Karen Silkwood was portrayed in this movie. I'm not sure how realistic every aspect of her character was, but from what I've read, she wasn't a saint. She is depicted here as a fairly average woman with flaws, hopes, challenges, and dreams. She's not someone you would put up on a pedestal. And yet, despite her flaws and limitations, she had real courage and undertakes some very admirable stances throughout the course of the film. The movie is an interesting meditation on Silkwood- in many ways, she is heroic. She's flawed, obviously, but despite her personal shortcomings, she did some amazingly brave things. I found her character complex and multilayered and I enjoyed the portrayal.

Of course, Meryl Streep deserves a great deal of credit for her performance. She makes Karen an interesting, believable person. We understand her, her strengths and her weaknesses. We understand she wasn't born some heroic leader, but she was an ordinary worker who stood up when so many others lowered their eyes. Streep helps us understand some of the fundamental aspects of Karen. It's no surprise that Streep was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress- she deserved it. Cher was fairly good in her role, although I've never been a huge fan of Cher as an actress. Most of the attention she gets is how stripped down and ordinary she looks here. It seems like that was hard for her to do and I suppose she gets some credit for slumming it so much with her appearance, but I wouldn't necessarily call it brave. She's fine- she does have some particularly strong moments. I was a little surprised she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Kurt Russell is really good in his supporting role. He firmly lives in Streep's shadow throughout the entire film, but his presence was still positive and he has a few great sequences throughout the film. The supporting cast was superb, with Craig T. Nelson, Fred Ward, Bruce McGill, David Strathairn, and M. Emmet Walsh all giving worthwhile performances. Mike Nichols really assembled an impressive cast for this film.

Silkwood achieves what it set out to achieve- it tells a powerful true story that far too many people today don't know about it. It's entertaining, but it makes you want to know more, to learn what really happened and what the implications were. This is a very strong movie and one that's held up, even decades later.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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