Silkwood

I saw "Silkwood" again recently, and it seemed to make sense of the past 25 years of my life -- I finally understood why I began doing what I do.

When I was sixteen years old I broke both legs, and was out of school for two months. But twice a week my father, who worked nights as a security guard at the Kerr-McGee office building, took me downtown to the federal courthouse in Oklahoma City, to watch the proceedings of the Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee trial during morning sessions. He insisted I go, he said, "So you'll learn something." I learned a lot about people then, and about the law, and the experience certainly took my mind off my own physical discomfort.

Mr. Paul, an excellent corporate lawyer, represented Kerr-McGee, which leased the operation of the plutonium plant in Crescent, Oklahoma, about thirty miles north of here. Mr. Spence represented the children of Karen Silkwood. Mr. Paul and his six associates seemed to change their suits every day. Perhaps they didn't want to see like the "great gray wall" -- which was the stereotype of corporate lawyers. But the net effect of seven men striving to seem individual was that of a great plumed serpent preparing to devour any small creature in its path. Mr. Spence, on the other hand, wore the same buckskin fringed coat each day. Each day he would place his Stetson on his table. He and the hat sat in splendid silence while the Kerr-McGee attorneys conferred and whispered.

Both men counted on the sentiments of a working-class jury. Mr. Paul figured people would recognize the contribution made to the community by Kerr-McGee, a locally owned business with world-wide influence, which provided many jobs to people here. Mr. Spence counted on them harboring deep suspicions, after having been treated like throw-away people for so many years by other employers of the same size as Kerr-McGee. My father was such a person. He worked for Kerr-McGee, but he distrusted corporate politics, and rightly figured they'd let him go right before he qualified for a pension. Later, that's exactly what happened.

Mr. Spence has sued the corporation for 2 million dollars. But the jury awarded him, and Karen Silkwood's children, five times that much. Later, thanks to an excellent foundation laid by Mr. Paul, Kerr-McGee was able to get the conviction overturned, then eventually settled for a payment of 1 million dollars to the grown children. Of course, Mr. Spence took about half of that, and after taxes, I suppose each of the three children had about enough to get a college education, or to buy a new truck and have a down payment on a house.

That's what happened to me. My father died not longer after being let go by Kerr-McGee. There was enough insurance money to pay for my college education. Then my mother died. For many years the social atmosphere in the Kerr-McGee offices, where one of my friends worked as a draftsman, prevented anyone from ever saying anything good about Karen Silkwood. I will not repeat was generally said about her, or her social life, her motivations or her politics.

I never met her, but I did see and hear the people who were for Karen Silkwood, and those who were against her, at the trial. It was clear to me that whatever else she may have been, she was a courageous person. By the time the movie was released, I was a junior in college, and suddenly changed my major to drama. After graduation, I found work with a film production company which filmed herds of cattle -- "Video Auction" was its name. Then I went to California, where I taught drama, or worked as a stage manager, for twenty years.

Watching "Silkwood" last week, for the first time in 24 years, reminded me of what the trial, and later the movie, showed me -- the part of you that lasts is what you have done for others. The lawyers will take everything else.

Intense 1980s flick that is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep in an Oscar-nominated role), a woman at a plutonium plant who began to talk about what really went on at the facility where she was employed. It seems that nuclear tampering would lead to the poisoning of the plant's employees and the pollution of the environment. Silkwood was about to talk to the New York Times about the Oklahoma plant when she died under mysterious circumstances in a car accident. The audience knows what is going to happen, but it is getting there that is the fascinating part. Mike Nichols' Oscar-nominated direction is arguably the best of his career, with the exception of his work on "The Graduate". Cher (also Oscar-nominated) proved that she was a legitimate actress as Streep's lesbian co-worker. Kurt Russell also gives his finest performance as Streep's on-again-off-again boyfriend. However with all that said, it is Meryl Streep who gives one of her finest performances in this memorable, remarkable and important motion picture. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

As we don't really know what happened to Karen Silkwood for an exact certainty this film gives us a pretty accurate account of those last months of her life when a very ordinary and pedestrian life became a symbol of union activism and the power of plutocracy to have their way.

When Harvey Milk went out and became a gay activist he reflected that in the 40 years he'd been living on planet earth he hadn't really left much of a mark up to that time. Karen Silkwood didn't even have that much time left to her. The last couple of years of her life were devoted to union activism and it was that activism that indirectly or directly led to her death depending on your point of view.

As an a union leader she even faced the criticisms of her own rank and file for not working as they felt for more traditional issues like a pay raise, less hours etc. Her concentration was the plant safety at Kerr- McGee where she and others worked making plutonium pellets for nuclear fuel rods. As such she and her co-workers were exposed to radiation, exposed a lot more she feared than her employers let on. That's fairly well proved in the film and in life.

As to her death the speculation is that it was not just an automobile accident, but something that was arranged by Kerr-McGee as she was on her way to meet a New York Times reporter with documentation of Kerr- McGee's failings on the issue of safety. That's the part that has left her story a mystery until this day, a mystery that the film Silkwood takes no real position.

But despite that the film got five Oscar nominations for Meryl Streep one of her collection of Best Actress nominations for the title role. Mike Nichols got one for Best Director and there were nominations in the writing and editing categories.

Cher spread her thespian wings in Silkwood playing Streep's best friend and lesbian roommate and fellow worker. She got some deserved rave reviews and this led to a second career as actress. In her whole career Cher has never really mixed her singing and her acting. Thirty years ago she probably would have been Hollywood musicals of mixed quality so she's eschewed musical films. I think that's conscious decision she's made and it's worked out well for her.

Sadly being ignored by the Academy was Kurt Russell playing Streep's live in boyfriend. From child actor to Disney bubble gum star to action adventure films, Russell finally got a real acting role he could create a character with and did so. Mostly his career has been action/adventure stuff, but here and in other films like Unlawful Entry and the Mean Season he's shown some acting chops without shooting people or breaking heads.

The film Silkwood as a totality is not as good as the outstanding performances these three players give in it. But it still remains a testament to the life and example of Karen Silkwood.

Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep) lives in Oklahoma with her boyfriend Drew Stephens (Kurt Russell) and best friend lesbian Dolly Pelliker (Cher). Her kids live with their father in Texas. The three friends are low-skilled workers at the Kerr-McGee Cimarron Site where they manufacture fuel rods for nuclear reactors. With mounting work and lax safety, Karen starts to talk union causing tension with the company. Eventually, she gets mysteriously irradiated.

Meryl Streep is the best. She delivers a fully-fleshed out character of real depth. The movie is a bit slow and meandering. It would be great to have a tighter and more direct film. Then there is the final text. It seems like a bunch of stuff from the legal department to safeguard against lawsuits. They may as well fictionalize the movie instead. The performances are terrific. The story is compelling.

This movie was only a glimpse into the future. We all, should be very thankful that Hollywood had the guts to produce a story like this. Meryl Streep did a wonderful job of portraying Karen Silkwood. This movie was only a glimpse into the future. I think this movie was a real eye opener at the time. Unfortunately, now there are enough true stories out there like this, it would keep Hollywood busy full time, if they produced them all. Meryl Streep you are my star for ever, but please mentor someone else with your talent. Our country needs it.

With CSI on TV today it would be nice to have a spin off with details of Karen's head x-rays and auto damage in order to get closer to the truth. A modern day story called 'Wounded Bear' depicts a very similar story. This story has CT's and would bring you to the truth of both stories. I have Silkwood

on tape because I feel it is an important part of history.