Silkwood

By VARIETY STAFF

ABC. Director Mike Nichols; Producer Mike Nichols, Michael Hausman; Screenplay Nora Ephron, Alice Arlen; Camera Miroslav Ondricek; Editor Sam O'Steen; Music Georges Delerue; Art Director Patrizia Von Brandenstein
 
Meryl Streep
Kurt Russell
Cher
Craig T. Nelson
Diana Scarwid
Fred Ward
 

A very fine biographical drama, Silkwood concerns Karen Silkwood, a nuclear materials factory worker who mysteriously died just before she was going to blow the whistle on her company's presumed slipshod methods and cover-ups.

A lowdown, spunky and seemingly uneducated Southern gal whose three kids live elsewhere with their father, Silkwood works long hours at a tedious job which presents the constant threat of radiation contamination.

Her home life is rather more unconventional, as she shares a rundown abode with two coworkers, b.f. Kurt Russell and a lesbian friend, Cher.

The complexion of their domestic life takes a turn when blonde cowgirl beautician Diana Scarwid moves in with Cher, and at work, Silkwood finds herself increasingly at odds with management after she becomes involved with a union committee fighting decertification of the union at the plant.

Silkwood's death in 1974 was officially ruled an accident, but the story became a cause celebre in the media and among anti-nuke proponents.

1983: Nominations: Best Director, Actress (Meryl Streep), Supp. Actress (Cher), Original Screenplay, Editing

(Color) Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1983. Running time: 128 MIN.