''Matewan'' () is a 1987 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
written and directed by
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...
, and starring
Chris Cooper
Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), '' October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' C ...
(in his film debut),
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
,
Mary McDonnell and
Will Oldham, with
David Strathairn,
Kevin Tighe and
Gordon Clapp in supporting roles.
The film dramatizes the events of the
Battle of Matewan, a coal miners'
strike in 1920 in
Matewan, a small town in the hills of
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
.
''Matewan'' was a critical success but a box office flop, grossing under $2 million on an estimated $4 million budget. The film received a nomination for the
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work on one particular motion picture.
History
In its first film season, 1927–28, this award (like others such as the acting awards) w ...
, and received a
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...
re-release in 2019.
Plot
Joe Kenehan is an organizer for the
United Mine Workers
The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unite ...
. He arrives in Matewan, West Virginia in 1920 to organize miners against the Stone Mountain Coal Company. His introduction to the town is his witnessing of a mob of miners angry at wage cuts beating up black miners who intended to cross the picket line. He takes up residence at a boarding house run by a coal miner's widow, Elma Radnor, and her 15-year-old son, Danny, who is also a miner and a budding
Baptist
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
preacher. The miners are reluctant to bring the imported workers, both black and Italian into their union, a cause not helped by
C. E. Lively, a spy for the company within the union, who tries to goad the miners into violence and secretly informs the
Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency
The Baldwin–Felts Detective Agency was a private detective agency in the United States from the early 1890s to 1937. Members of the agency were central actors in the events that led to the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921 and violent repression ...
of the "red" Kenehan's presence.
The next day, two Baldwin–Felts men, Hickey and Griggs, show up in town and take up residence at the Radnor
boarding house. Danny at first refuses to give rooms to Hickey and Griggs, but Kenehan voluntarily moves to the hotel, freeing up a room for the two men and averting trouble for Mrs. Radnor. Hickey and Griggs then start their campaign against the union by forcibly
evicting miners from company-owned houses in town. Mayor Testerman and Police Chief
Sid Hatfield refuse to let them be evicted without eviction writs from
Charleston. Hatfield deputizes all the men in town and tells them to go home and come back with their guns.
The Baldwin–Felts men then turn their attention on the strikers' camp outside town, where the miners and their families are living in tents. At night, the armed strikebreakers fire shots into the camp, injuring some strikers. The next day, they enter the camp to demand that all food and clothing purchased at the
company store
A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared g ...
with
scrip be turned over to them, but are thwarted by the arrival of armed
hill people
Hill people, also referred to as mountain people, is a general term for people who live in the hills and mountains.
This includes all rugged land above and all land (including plateaus) above elevation.
The climate is generally harsh, with ...
, whose land was taken by the coal company. Expressing disdain for the noise caused by the gunmen's automobile the night before, their presence and sympathy for the miners compels the Baldwin–Felts men to leave empty-handed. The slow arrival of the union's thinly stretched strike funds tests the patience of Danny Radnor and other miners who become disillusioned and turn to violence in spite of Kenehan's warnings. The miners are involved in a night-time shootout with the agents and Sephus is wounded. He is rescued by some hill people but not before he recognizes Lively as the infiltrator.
Lively tries to drive a wedge between Kenehan and the miners by convincing a young widow, Bridey Mae Tolliver, to falsely accuse Kenehan of sexual assault, and he plants a letter which makes Kenehan appear to be the infiltrator, leading the miners to plot to kill Kenehan. Danny overhears Hickey and Griggs talking about the scheme and is discovered and threatened by Hickey. That night, while preaching at the
Freewill church, Danny relates a
parable
A parable is a succinct, didactic story, in prose or verse, that illustrates one or more instructive lessons or principles. It differs from a fable in that fables employ animals, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature as characters, w ...
about
Joseph
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...
that convinces the miners that they have been deceived by a false story, taking advantage of the now-inebriated detectives. Lively silently slips out of the back of the church while a miner runs to the camp to stop Few Clothes from killing Kenehan. Meanwhile, Sephus has made his way back to town and informed the others of Lively's betrayal, furiously burning down his restaurant. Lively flees town by swimming across the
Tug Fork River.
Later, while Danny and his friend Hillard Elkins are stealing coal from the mine, they are confronted by the detectives. Danny hides, while Elkins is tortured for information. He provides five names, and is killed by Griggs anyway. Lively mentions that the men he has named died in the mines years ago, and muses that the death of a young boy will complicate things.
The situation between the Baldwin–Felts men and Chief Hatfield reaches a boiling point with the arrival of reinforcements with orders to carry out the evictions. The mayor tries to negotiate as Kenehan comes running to try to stop the fight. The sudden movement sets off a climactic
gunfight between the exposed mercenaries and the armed townspeople firing from barricades and rooftops. Hatfield shoots two men and survives the battle, but Kenehan is killed and the mayor is shot in the stomach. Griggs is brought down, while Hickey escapes to Elma Radnor's boarding house, where he is shot and killed by Elma Radnor. Seven Baldwin–Felts men and two townspeople are ultimately killed.
In the epilogue, the narrator (revealed to be an elderly Danny recalling those days in
"Bloody Mingo") recounts that Mayor Testerman succumbed to his wounds and the mayor's wife married Chief Sid Hatfield. But Hatfield was later gunned down in broad daylight on the steps of the
McDowell County Courthouse in
Welch, with Lively stepping up to deliver the ''
coup de grâce''. He recalls the event as the start of the
Great Coalfield War.
Cast
*
Chris Cooper
Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), '' October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' C ...
as Joe Kenehan
*
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (born January 17, 1931) is an American actor. He has been described as "one of America's most distinguished and versatile" actors for his performances in film, television, and theater, and "one of the greatest actors in America ...
as "Few Clothes" Johnson
*
Mary McDonnell as Elma Radnor
*
Will Oldham as Danny Radnor
*
David Strathairn as Police Chief
Sid Hatfield
*
Ken Jenkins
Ken Jenkins (born August 28, 1940) is an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Bob Kelso, the chief of medicine on the American comedy series '' Scrubs'' (2001–2009). He has also had notable appearances in many popular TV shows.
Ea ...
as Sephus Purcell
*
Gordon Clapp as Griggs
*
Kevin Tighe as Hickey
*
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...
as Hardshell Preacher
*
Bob Gunton as
C.E. Lively
*
Josh Mostel
Joshua Mostel (born December 21, 1946) is an American actor with numerous film and Broadway credits. The son of Zero Mostel, he is best known for his supporting roles in films such as ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), '' Harry and Tonto'' (1974 ...
as Mayor Cabell Testerman
* Nancy Mette as Bridey Mae Tolliver
*
Jace Alexander as Hillard Elkins
*
Joe Grifasi
Joseph G. Grifasi (born June 14, 1944) is an American character actor of film, stage and television.
Grifasi was born in Buffalo, New York, the son of Patricia (née Gaglione) and Joseph J. Grifasi, a skilled laborer. Grifasi graduated from Bi ...
as Fausto
*
Maggie Renzi as Rosaria
* Jo Henderson as Mrs. Elkins
* Gary McCleery as Ludi
Reception
Critical response
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised the acting in the film, writing, "''Matewan'' is a heartfelt, straight-ahead tale of labor organizing in the coal mines of West Virginia in 1920 that runs its course like a train coming down the track. Among the memorable characters is Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper), a young union organizer who comes to Matewan to buck the bosses. With his strong face and
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...
good-looks, Cooper gives the film its heartbeat...Most notable of the black workers is 'Few Clothes' Johnson (James Earl Jones), a burly good-natured man with a powerful presence and a quick smile. Jones' performance practically glows in the dark. Also a standout is Sayles veteran David Strathairn as the sheriff with quiet integrity who puts his life on the line."
Film critic
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who served as the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in ...
lauded the acting and the cinematography in the film and wrote in his review, "There's not a weak performance in the film, but I especially admired the work of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tighe, Miss McDonnell, Miss Mette, Mr. Gunton, Mr. Strathairn and Mr. Mostel. They may be playing Social-Realist icons, but each manages to make something personal and idiosyncratic out of the material, without destroying the ballad-like style. For the most part, Haskell Wexler's photography doesn't go overboard in finding poetry in the images."
Critic
Desson Howe liked the look of the film and wrote, "Cinematographer Haskell Wexler etches the characters in dark charcoal against a misty background. You get the feeling of dirt, sweat and – despite the story's mythic intentions – the grim grey struggle of it all. And Sayles, struggling for authority from ''
Return of the Secaucus 7'' through ''
The Brother from Another Planet'', has finally tapped the vein."
Jonathan Rosenbaum called Matewan a "simpleminded yet stirring" film which "offers a bracing alternative to complacent right-wing as well as liberal claptrap. If Sayles’s bite were as lethal as his bark, he might have given this a harder edge and a stronger conclusion."
The review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
reported that 94% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 34 reviews.
Accolades
Cinematographer
Haskell Wexler
Haskell Wexler, ASC (February 6, 1922 – December 27, 2015) was an American cinematographer, film producer, and director. Wexler was judged to be one of film history's ten most influential cinematographers in a survey of the members of the Inte ...
received an
Academy Award nomination for Best Cinematography at the
50th Academy Awards.
In 2011, ''
Empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
'' ranked the film at number 21 on its list of the 50 Greatest American Independent Movies.
Its description read, "The film not only marked a significant turning point in Sayles’ career (it was his first film to attract anything like a mainstream audience), it's arguably an even more relevant, cautionary tale today than it was during the
Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
/
Thatcher controlled-climate of its release year."
Locations
The film was made in
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...
with the town of
Thurmond standing in for Matewan.
Other scenes were filmed along the
New River Gorge National River.
Soundtrack
The film score features
Appalachian music
Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland) ...
of the period composed and performed by
Mason Daring
Mason K. Daring (born September 21, 1949 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. He has worked on nearly all the films directed by John Sayles, adapting his style to fit whatever pe ...
, who frequently works on
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles (born September 28, 1950) is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist. He has twice been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, for ''Passion Fish'' (1992) and '' ...
' films. West Virginia
bluegrass singer
Hazel Dickens sings the film's title track, "Fire in the Hole", and appears in the film as a member of the Freewill Baptist Church whose voice is heard leading the congregation in an
a cappella
''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...
hymn ("What A Friend We Have in Jesus") and also sings over the grave of a fallen union miner, Hillard Elkins, ("Gathering Storm").
Dickens also sings "Hills of Galilee" over the closing credits.
The soundtrack was released on
LP by Columbia.
Other performers are
John Hammond, Phil Wiggins (harmonica); Gerry Milnes, Stuart Schulman (fiddle), Jim Costa (mandolin); John Curtis (guitar), and Mason Daring (guitar, dobro).
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Blair Community Center and Museumto preserve the story of the
West Virginia Mine Wars
''Matewan''film trailer at
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
''Matewan: All We Got in Common''an essay by A. S. Hamrah at the
Criterion Collection
The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...
{{John Sayles
1987 films
1987 drama films
1987 independent films
American political drama films
Coal mining in Appalachia
Coal Wars
Films about the labor movement
Drama films based on actual events
Films directed by John Sayles
Films set in Appalachia
Films set in the 1920s
Films set in West Virginia
Films shot in West Virginia
Goldcrest Films films
History of labor relations in the United States
Industrial Workers of the World in fiction
Pocahontas Coalfield
Rail transport films
Films with screenplays by John Sayles
Films about mining
Films scored by Mason Daring
Labor disputes in West Virginia
United Mine Workers of America
1980s English-language films
1980s American films