Set in a small rural town in Oklahoma, 'Silkwood' (1983) follows Karen Silkwood's (Meryl Streep) quest to reveal the truth about the local nuclear power plant she works at. Based upon a true story, Karen is killed in a car accident on her way to meet an editor of the New York Times who was going to help her expose the truth. Living with her boyfriend Drew (Kurt Russell) and friend Dolly (Cher), Karen, a technician in the plant, sees her life turned upside down after she tests positive for radiation poisoning. After she is subsequently moved to a different department, Karen quickly becomes suspicious that the company is putting worker's health at risk in order to fulfill million dollar contracts. A suspicion that ultimately leads to her death. Directed by Mike Nichols, direction for which earned him an Oscar nomination, Silkwood is for the large part a believable, thrilling and touching film. The script by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen is given life by the two lead actresses, Streep and Cher, both of which gained Oscar nominations for their performances for the high amount of depth and humanity exhibited in each of their characters. At times, however the plot seemed to drag slightly, and Kurt Russell was given little room for character development playing the stereotypical southern blue collar worker, but these are minor criticisms. The bigger problem with this film is the structure. As the audience is let known beforehand that Karen will die at some point, the tension that builds quite effectively through the film is wasted somewhat by a anti-climactic end. A problem that seems to undermine many thrillers/dramas that are based upon true stories as the spoiler is given before the film. Nonetheless, Silkwood is a high quality film and Meryl Streep gives yet another Oscar nominated performance (her 5th at the time) and with her co-star Cher they help lift a film that otherwise may have lacked. 7/10
