Contains spoilers
Karen Silkwood works at a nuclear processing plant in Oklahoma; the company's business involves manufacturing plutonium fuel-rods for the nuclear power industry. At the beginning of the film Karen seems to be an ordinary worker with no tendencies towards activism or political radicalism. (The fact that she and her boyfriend display a prominent Confederate battle flag in their bedroom would suggest that politically she is on the right). She changes, however, when she realises that the management of the plant have a cavalier attitude towards the health and safety of their employees, particularly the risks of radioactive contamination, and that, worse still, they are doctoring x-ray photographs of the fuel rods in order to cover up potential defects that could prove disastrous. Karen becomes a campaigner for improved safety standards, but is killed in a car crash while driving to meet a journalist to inform him of her suspicions.
I would agree with the author of the earlier comment who stated that Hollywood films rarely focus on the lives of modern working-class people, and that 'Silkwood' is one of the rare exceptions. (Films with a labour relations theme, such as 'Matewan' or 'The Molly Maguires', often have a historical setting, as though clashes between workers and employers were something from the Bad Old Days which have largely been overcome in modern society). Nevertheless, 'Silkwood' is not simply a tale of 'workers versus capitalists'. Although Karen's safety campaign has the support of her trade union's national leadership, she antagonises not only the management of the plant but also many of her fellow-workers, who value job security more than personal safety. There are few other employment opportunities in their small town, and they fear that, if forced to implement stricter safety rules, the company will simply close the plant, thus putting them out of work. There is a strong implication that the 'accident' in which Karen dies may have been arranged deliberately, but there is no hint as to who might have been responsible.
The more recent Julia Roberts film 'Erin Brockovich' owes a clear debt to 'Silkwood'. Both films are based on true stories, and in both a young single mother takes on a powerful corporation playing fast and loose with public safety. 'Erin Brockovich', with its upbeat ending, is more optimistic; it is also, in my view, the better film as its director Steven Soderbergh is able to hold our interest throughout, whereas 'Silkwood' can drag at times. The first half of the film, which concentrates as much on Karen's tangled personal life as on the main theme of nuclear safety, can seem particularly slow. Nevertheless, the film becomes more gripping in the second half, aided by a superb performance from Meryl Streep in the leading role, one of a series of great parts that made her probably the best film actress of the eighties. I am always surprised that she lost the 'Best Actress' Oscar to Shirley MacLaine's caricature of a performance in 'Terms of Endearment'. There are also excellent contributions from Kurt Russell as Karen's boyfriend Drew and from Cher, cast against type as Dolly, the dowdy lesbian who befriends Karen.
'Silkwood' is not a great film, but it is a brave one, treating a controversial social and political issue with greater freedom than we normally see in Hollywood movies. 7/10
Karen Silkwood works at a nuclear processing plant in Oklahoma; the company's business involves manufacturing plutonium fuel-rods for the nuclear power industry. At the beginning of the film Karen seems to be an ordinary worker with no tendencies towards activism or political radicalism. (The fact that she and her boyfriend display a prominent Confederate battle flag in their bedroom would suggest that politically she is on the right). She changes, however, when she realises that the management of the plant have a cavalier attitude towards the health and safety of their employees, particularly the risks of radioactive contamination, and that, worse still, they are doctoring x-ray photographs of the fuel rods in order to cover up potential defects that could prove disastrous. Karen becomes a campaigner for improved safety standards, but is killed in a car crash while driving to meet a journalist to inform him of her suspicions.
I would agree with the author of the earlier comment who stated that Hollywood films rarely focus on the lives of modern working-class people, and that 'Silkwood' is one of the rare exceptions. (Films with a labour relations theme, such as 'Matewan' or 'The Molly Maguires', often have a historical setting, as though clashes between workers and employers were something from the Bad Old Days which have largely been overcome in modern society). Nevertheless, 'Silkwood' is not simply a tale of 'workers versus capitalists'. Although Karen's safety campaign has the support of her trade union's national leadership, she antagonises not only the management of the plant but also many of her fellow-workers, who value job security more than personal safety. There are few other employment opportunities in their small town, and they fear that, if forced to implement stricter safety rules, the company will simply close the plant, thus putting them out of work. There is a strong implication that the 'accident' in which Karen dies may have been arranged deliberately, but there is no hint as to who might have been responsible.
The more recent Julia Roberts film 'Erin Brockovich' owes a clear debt to 'Silkwood'. Both films are based on true stories, and in both a young single mother takes on a powerful corporation playing fast and loose with public safety. 'Erin Brockovich', with its upbeat ending, is more optimistic; it is also, in my view, the better film as its director Steven Soderbergh is able to hold our interest throughout, whereas 'Silkwood' can drag at times. The first half of the film, which concentrates as much on Karen's tangled personal life as on the main theme of nuclear safety, can seem particularly slow. Nevertheless, the film becomes more gripping in the second half, aided by a superb performance from Meryl Streep in the leading role, one of a series of great parts that made her probably the best film actress of the eighties. I am always surprised that she lost the 'Best Actress' Oscar to Shirley MacLaine's caricature of a performance in 'Terms of Endearment'. There are also excellent contributions from Kurt Russell as Karen's boyfriend Drew and from Cher, cast against type as Dolly, the dowdy lesbian who befriends Karen.
'Silkwood' is not a great film, but it is a brave one, treating a controversial social and political issue with greater freedom than we normally see in Hollywood movies. 7/10