Silkwood

In seiner Zeit ein sehr wichtiger Film. Heute fehlt der Kontext und der Stil des späten neuen Hollywoods ist auch nicht mehr universell, aber ähnliche Ausflüge in die Vergangenheit verdienen immer noch Aufmerksamkeit. Karen Gay Silkwood (1946-1974) wurde berühmt als Gewerkschafterin, die sich mit der Sicherheit in einem Plutonium-Verarbeitungswerk beschäftigte. Die Umstände ihres Todes warfen viele Fragen auf. Ihre Geschichte wurde zu einem gewissen Manifest, obwohl der Rechtsstreit zwischen der Fabrik und den Hinterbliebenen letztendlich außergerichtlich beigelegt wurde. Die Fabrik stellte ihre Tätigkeit bereits im Jahr 1975 ein. Der Fall Silkwood inspirierte auch den Film Das China-Syndrom. In schauspielerischer Hinsicht ist es wirklich ein Erlebnis, die markante Leistung von Meryl Streep in der Ära nach Sophies Entscheidung ist heute bereits eine klassische Darstellung. Cher hat mit ihrer lesbischen Rolle als Dolly Pelliker ebenfalls viel Aufmerksamkeit erregt, aber die stärksten Emotionen konnte Sudie Bond vermitteln. (14.01.2024)

This film was supposed to be about unethical practices in the nuclear industry and I was curious about the filmmakers' perspective on my American colleagues and how much the environment in our field has changed since the film was made. To be honest, I consider Silkwood to be poorly executed from a dramatic point of view, with the film dragging on and on. After a little time passed after I watched it, I am able to recall nothing more than endless cigarette stubs and a very peculiar approach of American employees toward workplace safety, which would have been unimaginable just a decade later. And speaking of smoking, even filmmakers of the 50s were not as accommodating to the needs of the tobacco industry - or so I believe. Nonetheless, the charisma of Meryl Streep as one of the best actresses of her generation is necessary to save quite a bit of the film, meaning it will be difficult for it to maintain a three-star rating. Overall impression: 50%. (31.08.2018)

Boring and unexciting drama, which simply ends after more than two hours without any hint of climax, leaving you wondering if it was worth dedicating your time to it. It didn't leave any impact on me and I didn't learn much about the malfunctioning of a nuclear power plant somewhere in Oklahoma either. I watched the quality acting performances of Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell in the film, where there were more than enough. I understand that the case of Silkwood was crucial for the nuclear issue in the USA, but her life outside this matter was not interesting at all and definitely not worth making a biopic about her. Far from the weakest film by Mike Nichols that I have seen. BTW: The film was released in 1988 in Czechoslovak cinemas with a running time of only 91 minutes. Almost all scenes with Cher were cut from the film, who played the lesbian roommate of the main couple, which was a cardinal taboo at the time. Contemporary Czechoslovak critics reportedly wondered how Cher received a Golden Globe for this film when she had so little screen time. I have seen the full original version, but I still don't understand why she received that award. She plays a supporting role in the film and when she does appear, she certainly doesn't stand out. Meryl Streep outshines her every time they are on screen together, making it inexplicable to me why Cher was the only one to receive an acting award for this film. (04.08.2019)