1987 · drama
Matewan
Directed by John Sayles2h 12m1987
Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.
Our read: Matewan (1987) reads as a sombre, steady, grounded drama entry — measured in intensity, mid-stakes in scope, measured in temperature, nihilistic in outlook.
Sombre, steady, measured drama, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, mid-stakes, measured.
- sombre
- intense
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How Matewan feels to watch.
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“You want righteous coal-country union drama building to a legendary shootout.”
Skip it tonight — Skip if period labor history and a slow two-hour build feel too earnest.
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