Silkwood 1983, Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell, Cher, Fred Ward

 

In 1983 I was 2 so this movie passed me by the first time around surprisingly. A friend of mine recommended I check it out so I am. It’s an early role for Meryl Streep well she’d only won one Oscar and had 4 5 nominations by this point that’s out of three wins and too many nominations for this lazy blogger to count. 

The 70’s and 80’s are a different world from where we are now, health and safety was having an accident book and a pack of plasters. A risk assessment was someone telling you to be careful and possibly a chat about it after in the work canteen. Now of course it’s a different world where things are taken seriously and risk assessments are important and you will be nannied when doing anything slightly risky. 

Karen Silkwood works in a nuclear processing plant that makes fuel pellets for reactors, she’s in her late 20s and is estranged from her young family. There’s a mistake on the line and some contamination occurs, Karen is blamed for the mishap. When another incident happens Karen pushes for testing and safety measures. After a birthday celebration Karen stays to clean some mess and when going through routine testing triggers the contamination alarm. 

Karen starts to take a more active role in the union and when the company try to push her out this activity increases and she’s constantly seeking advice. At a union meeting she discloses lots of dubious safety practices that are overlooked and she is asked to get more information. Karen’s relationship falls apart when she shows pictures of a union trip to Washington and she’s close to her union advisor. There’s a union meeting with the plant workers and the risks of cancers are out lined with Karen being prominent at the meeting along side her Washington advisor. 

Karen becomes evermore involved with the union pushing back whenever the opportunity arises. Karen takes more risks in an effort to uncover poor workmanship on fuel rods and gets caught by her colleagues numerous times and they warn her that she’s making a bad name for herself. Setting of the contamination alarms more frequently and going through the decontamination processes her house is checked and found to be contaminated too. Karen is seriously contaminated with radiation and this posses a big problem to the company she works for as they don’t want to accept liability. 

The company push for her to make a statement that absolves them of liability but Karen refuses and drives off. Karen gets a meeting with a New York Times journalist alongside her union advocate. While driving to the meeting Karen is involved in a fatal car crash under suspicious circumstances. 

Later Karen’s family would sue Kerr-McGee for the contamination she suffered and would win $1.38 million. 

An early role for Meryl Streep and you can see the skill and talent that would lead to her being one of the most successful actors over the last 50 years. It’s a tough story to portray. 

Kurt Russell plays the love interest for Karen and it’s a good role he plays it well and there’s a good chemistry between the two characters. 

Cher only has a small part but she plays it well it’s not easy to judge as she’s only on screen for a short time. 

It’s a good movie and it’s important to remember the pioneers in employment safety and the sacrifices they made in order for us to have the protections we do now. Corporate greed will continue as long as there a company’s and they will always look for an advantage. There’s a whole genre of films based on true story’s that compare to this, “A civil action” and “Erin Brockovich” to name two. 

With great acting and a person who deserves to be remembered it’s worth watching and to be frank if you see Meryl Streep in the header you can’t really go wrong 21 Oscar nominations speaks for itself. 

Have fun stay safe 👍🏼