It Just Keeps Going On

The countdown just keeps coming. Today I want to talk about a film that most of you are probably very familiar with: Silkwood (check out the trailer here ). This film is a classic starring Streep, Cher and Kurt Russell. Made in 1983, this is one of four films that Meryl has been in that director Mike Nichols directed. The film is truly fabulous, but it can be one of those movies that is difficult to watch.

Streep plays a factory worker in a plutonium processing plant. She is purposefully contaminated, chased away from her job and seemingly murdered by the plant that she worked for. The film is great because of the storyline itself, but once again the on screen chemistry between Streep, Russell and Cher is absolutely breathtaking. The film is not an easy one to stomach with graphic scenes after Streep's character is contaminated and the results thereafter.

The most distinctive point of this film is that it is based on a true story. A woman truly fought for the safety violations at a plant to be exposed so that the workers and those who lived around the plants would be safe. It is sad to see that we live in a world where one person's efforts to do such good things can cause them to fall so far and lead to their death. Of course, once again, I will remind my readers that I know fiction when it hits me in the face. But let us not forget the facts that lie beneath this screenplay. Meryl, of course, seems effortless in her portrayal of her character and shines on the screen as the heroine who is taken down by the plutonium plant.

If there is any film among my list of seven for this week that Meryl really should have gotten the award for, I believe it's this one. The message that this film delivers is truly something for everyone to see. Meryl takes the role and makes her audience feel her character's emotions so well that you feel as though you are watching the story come to life. She was nominated for a Golden Globe but the award went to Shirley MacClaine for Terms of Endearment. Tough year at the awards if you ask me.

Who's ready for number 3 tomorrow??