American drama based on the real life of Karen Silkwood
Directed by Mike Nichols
Starring Meryl Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell
Released December 14, 1983
by Lisa McDonald
Live Music Head
I punched a clock in a factory once.
Punched it every day, twice a day, for about a year actually, when I worked at Duracell back in the eighties. It was my second ever job. And there was certainly chemicals floating around that plant that could do you harm. The Kleenex would turn black every time I blew my nose. And if your rubber glove touched a cell that got crushed on the assembly line, and then you touched your face, or worse your eye, boy would it burn, baby burn. But I don’t think the chemicals at a battery plant posed nearly as much danger as that of a plutonium plant; a nuclear facility the likes of which is depicted in this film.
Inspired by the real life of union labour activist Karen Silkwood, the film stars Meryl Streep who does an outstanding job in the title role, as well as Cher, and Kurt Russell, who are equally great in the roles of Silkwood’s friend and lover. It’s a disturbing story that will get you thinking; deep thinking about corruption, greed, and the carelessness of the powers-that-be: careless, greedy and corrupt powers-that-be who sign the paycheques of every day people; the working class.
Scenes of Streep being scrubbed down in the shower after being exposed to radiation, and her house being stripped of everything in it, including the wallpaper, after it too proves to be contaminated, are completely unforgettable. And without knowing all the facts of the real story, I have no doubt that what ultimately happened to Silkwood was a direct result of her attempts to expose the corruption.
The trailer for Silkwood...
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