Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Bea Swanson This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Kien Navarro Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

lasttimeisaw Martin Ritt's kitchen-sink drama NORMA RAE is my fourth entry of his filmography, it won Sally Field her first Oscar, and is reckoned as a shining specimen perfectly designed to gratify Awards recognition, aka "Norma Rae moment" for its actors, usually adapted from real events.The movies takes place in a small town in North Carolina, based on the true story of Crystal Lee Sutton (1940-2009), our heroine Norma Rae (Field) is a single mother of two kids (one from the wedlock and the other is an illegitimate son borne out of a casual fling), now her husband is long dead, and she trysts with a married man but often got beaten due to the rife male chauvinism among the hillbillies, should audience judge her too? Is she a dimwit slut or a liberal-minded feminist?Norma Rae, and her parents (Hingle and Baxley), all work in their local cotton mill factory, receive minimum-wage and their poor working conditions are ignored by the management, life could be that for her, keeping working until her health deteriorates under the awful condition and kicks the bucket, then hopefully her children will be old enough to take her place in the factory, do the same job and continues the circle of life. But the arrival of Reuben Warshowsky (Leibman), a New York union organiser, galvanises her life and the prospect of forming a labor union beckons a possibly better future, so she is bent on functioning as Reuben's right-hand man. Norma Rae also meets a fellow worker, Sonny (Bridges), a divorcé with a young daughter, and soon they form a family, but her whole-hearted devotion to the ongoing campaign for the union engenders clashes with the management of the factory, and she has to be crucified for the progressive cause when the antagonism reaching its boiling point. The Union wins in the end, but Norma Rae loses her job and Reuben leaves when his mission is achieved, will her future become better afterwards, the film doesn't reveal any detail, but a reconciliation with Sonny bespeaks at least no marital disruption will occur.Sally Field, injects such a redoubtable force in her acting, like Reuben patronisingly tells her, she is too good for the place, one can totally get impressed by her punchy effort in every line, gesture and expression, which transcends Norma Rae from an ordinary gal to a highly relatable and extremely likable cinematic heroine, that's the reason why we love to see these stories being told again and again on the screen. The script carefully treads the camaraderie between Norma Rae and Reuben, to avoid any scandals, but Leibman's Reuben, in the meaty supporting role, should be an equally likable character, doesn't register the same impact, wanting of sincerity in his acting could be the culprit, whereas Beau Bridges' Sonny and Pat Hingle's Vernon, Norma Rae's father, both cast more weight in their much leaner screen-time.NORMA RAE is a juggernaut success, receives four Oscar nominations (including the prestigious BEST PICTURE) and wins two (Field's BEST LEADING ACTRESS and David Shire's theme song IT GOES LIKE IT GOES, beautifully sung by Jennifer Warnes), the relevance of labor union has ebbed away since then, but it definitely sparks off a neo-realistic trend for American indie films, with real- life location and tapping into the misery of low-class people which average cinema-goers consider too harrowing to watch on the silver screen, in retrospective, it is something we should praise for!

dougdoepke That booming factory floor projects all the deafening sounds of a WWI artillery barrage. Why all the workers aren't deaf amounts to a puzzler. Gutsy movie. I like the main theme. The drive to unionize not only benefits the community but brings out Norma Rae's otherwise hidden potential, not only as a person but as a leader. Revealingly, it's the Jewish outsider and organizer who triggers that potential. Otherwise, the 31-year old is caught up in drifting aimlessly through life, a human cog in the mill's inhuman machinery. Men hit on her producing three illegitimate kids, while she lives at home with her parents. But what the heck, she's just blending in with the prevailing company town. Of course, all that alters once she stops being a passive vessel and begins to think about why things have to be the way they are. I'm really surprised the screenplay makes the "trouble-making" organizer a New York Jew since that directs attention onto certain stereotypes. Still, it's a gutsy move and provides good banter as Norma Rae's southern rural seeks commonality with Reuben's eastern urban. I also like the way the screenplay refuses to vilify the company officers. That would be too easy and cheap. After all, they're cogs too, only at a higher and better-paid level. Actually, the movie and its themes remind me of the classic labor movie Salt of the Earth (1953). Unfortunately, that McCarthy-era film was withheld for years because of its supposed subversive content. Nonetheless, the theme of the individual growing through labor betterment is quite similar to Norma Rae's. And if anyone can find material that goes beyond reformist liberalism in either film, I'd like to see it.Anyway, Field proves she's a lot more than a singing nun or a frolicking beach bunny. I'm glad they cast someone petite like her and refused any hint of glamor. Seeing her small, plain frame stand up to the hulking men shows the power of personal conviction, whether male or female. All in all, the movie's a fine effort at showing the historical dynamic behind a laboring class pushing upwards to the proverbial middle. And if, as a result, manufacture looks for replacement through offshoring or mechanizing, then deeper questions than the worthy Norma Rae need raising.

tieman64 This is a review of "Silkwood" and "Norma Rae", two of the more famous "women's pictures" of the 1980s. The better of the two, "Norma Rae" stars Sally Field as Norma Rae, a textile worker in small town North Carolina. Director Martin Ritt delves into Norma's social and home life, highlights the exploitation of both Norma and her fellow workers, and then introduces Norma to a Jewish unionist played by Ron Leibman. Ron teaches Norma the importance of solidarity, worker rights and battling for betterment. Sally, meanwhile, reveals herself to be a headstrong, blue-collar warrior; the brawn behind Leibman's brains.While "Norma Rae" does trivialise (it champions a "fairer capitalism", rather than examine the contradictions of capitalism itself), it does contain a number of good passages, most of which either compare Ron and Norma's differing social backgrounds or show the textile bosses strategically promoting dissenters and so pitting workers against workers. John Alonzo's cinematography is pitch perfect, gritty, intimate and pseudo-documentarian.Some have complained that "Norma Rae" is uncritical of unions, that the film neglects to mention that Norma's textile plant promptly shut down, and then go so far as to suggest that "unions are bad" because they "end jobs" and "chase jobs offshore". We see similar arguments today, banks, and the financial sector as a whole, which proclaim themselves as being "indespensible", threatening to pack up and leave countries if taxes are raised or stricter measures are put in place. Such things are typically used as "proof" for the benefits of less regulation. In reality, it's tantamount to blackmail.Directed by Mike Nichols, "Silkwood", another blue-collar whistle-blower picture, stars Meryl Streep as Karen Silkwood, a lowly worker at an Oklahoma nuclear facility. Along with her best friends (played by Kurt Russell and Cher), Karen begins to gather proof of her company's copious wrongdoings, which include poor safety measures, employee exploitation and radiation spills. Like "Norma Rae", the company bosses attempt to fight back, but can't seem to counter Karen's grit and determination. Both film's are overly sentimental, deal in very broad stereotypes (bad bosses, good exploited workers, saintly activists etc), but mask their deficiencies well with their low-key tones, naturalistic acting and strong, small town atmosphere. Their ancestors are King Vidor's "Our Daily Bread" and Michael Wilson's "Salt of the Earth". Their children are everything from "Matewan" to "North Country" to "Erin Brokovich" to "The Insider" to Ken Loach's underrated "Bread and Roses". The tale's familiar, and is habitually resuscitated every now and then.Unlike most films in this genre, "Silkwood's" hero is actively stalked, hounded and murdered by the shadowy corporations she locks horns with. In real life, the nuclear facility at which Karen worked (Kerr-McGee) was rumoured to have strong ties to the US Government, the CIA and the NIA. As Karen was about to whistle-blow on the illegal sale of nuclear grade plutonium, some believe she was assassinated. In the 1970s, women like her spearheaded the anti-nuclear movement, which has been successful in stopping the construction of nuclear plants, which even today are constantly being offered as "clean", "carbon free", "reliable energy sources".8/10 - Overrated, simplistic, but well acted. Worth one viewing. See "Bread and Roses".

mike-world1 Hard to understand, why on IMDb the movie only has a rating of 7, it deserves much better than this. Wonderful sets, cast, cinematography and plot. Everything beyond perfection! It's a touching story and the movie portrays it well. I have always liked stories that are about justice, while old black and white movies lived up to the expectation, this is relatively newer one and it didn't disappoint. The length is just ideal, it finishes at the right point though leaves much curiosity and longing that it should have lasted more. Great movies are about this. Dialogues are inspiring and background music is impactful. The movie also has one of my favourite songs! Couldn't have asked for more...