X
- 1987
- PG-13
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 15 m
- 1987
- PG-13
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 15 m
Summary A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Directed By: John Sayles
Written By: John Sayles
- 1987
- PG-13
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 15 m
- 1987
- PG-13
- Cinecom Pictures
- 2 h 15 m
Matewan
73
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Summary A labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
Directed By: John Sayles
Written By: John Sayles
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
73
80% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 15 Critic Reviews
73
80% Positive
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
20% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
The movie works the way Westerns have always worked: In clear, simple terms and with straightforward dramatic devices.
There's not a weak performance in the film, but I especially admired the work of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tighe, Miss McDonnell, Miss Mette, Mr. Gunton, Mr. Strathairn and Mr. Mostel. They may be playing Social-Realist icons, but each manages to make something personal and idiosyncratic out of the material, without destroying the ballad-like style.
When this movie stumbles, it stumbles honestly and sympathetically, but, when it succeeds, it makes history sing. [11 Sep 1987]
It possesses a mythic clarity, yet there's also a welcome complexity at work, in the vivid characterisations and the unsentimental celebration of community and collective action. The result is witty, astute, and finally very moving.
If Sayles's bite were as lethal as his bark, he might have given this a harder edge and a stronger conclusion. But the performances are uniformly fine.
With his round, ruddy face, Tighe always seems on the verge of derisive laughter or flash-fisted rage; it's enjoyable guessing which fever will surface first. The rest of the movie is less entertaining, a righteous homily without the grits.
Sayles must have meant his movie to stir and provoke, but the self-contained look of it yields something else-a sense of quaintness, of harmless nostalgia.
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Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Nomination
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
Political Film Society, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
