As a tale of self-discovery, Silkwood, Mike Nichols' 1982 biopic of the plutonium factory worker who uncovered negligence and dangerous practices at the heart of her employer's company, works well enough.
Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) is no saint. She drinks, cheerfully gets 'em out for the boys, has left her husband and kids and lives in a curious ménage à trois with her lover, (Kurt Russell) and their lesbian friend (Cher). But, through her own dawning suspicions, she is drawn into union activism and embarks on a crusade to expose the rottenness of her paymasters, only to die in a mysterious car crash. And here is the flaw. The film can't decide whether it's quirky soap opera, a campaigning blow for the anti-nuclear lobby or an allegory for the conflict between the rights of the individual and the demands of the corporate giant. It stops short of providing some important conclusions about what really happened to its central character, and why. Streep is fine though, injecting her character with a studied mixture of innate intelligence and trailer park trash. Russell offers solid support and Cher is outstanding as housemate Dolly Pelliker. Their performances give Silkwood its heart as a powerful human drama.
On the DVD:Silkwood is well-served on this DVD release by sharp picture and sound quality (Georges Delerue's poignantly jaunty country and western soundtrack benefits in particular), but the extras are static and add little to the package apart from a strictly "budget" feel: standard biographies of the stars and director with some pretty pointless trivia facts, and a brief history of the production. There's nothing here that even the most generalist of film fans won't already know. A director's commentary explaining why the film loses its bottle in the final reel would be more interesting. --Piers Ford
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
overlong/ham acting Interesting to see the goings on in the plutonium plant and the way the locals were employed in the high tech plant without really knowing the dangers. Obviously most of the workers would not want to see the plant closed as it seemed to have been the main/only employer in the area. I found Miss Streep's acting to be annoying because she was trying too hard to portray a trailer trash image. She is never without a cigarette off duty
and constantly flicking back her hair as if suffering from some tic. It... more info
Gripping!! This a truly gripping film, which is based on true account, which just makes it even better. The acting is superb - from Meryl Streep & Cher. Very sad & unbelievable tale - worth watching again & again.
Quite a good one, but for sure not Mike Nichols best... Well, I first saw this movie because I wanted to see how Cher does her job there and in one word it is ASTOUNDING!!! Both Cher and Meryl Streep are just AMAZING in this movie, and the movie is very good, although absoloutly not Nichols best... I would surely recommend this movie ,just to see Cher and Streep's fabolous acting!!!
![Silkwood [1984]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51EWD7TNZ8L._SL160_.jpg)
