Norma Rae Reviews

Powerful

One of the most powerful and moving films I have seen in a long time. A whole community coming together to improve their working conditions. How many films today can have a five minute scene where nothing is said and have a woman holding up a word she has great belief in, well none.

An ab fab film.

Worth Renting

A well acted and absorbing film. It makes one think, given that it portrays sweat-shops in America(which existed widely in the 1950s)which were not far removed from those of India and China today.

Good performance

Good performance by Sally Field. Could this film be made in America today? I'm surprised it was made at all. Its message harks back to the great John Steinbeck books/movies. Sally Field is rightly proud of her part in this film. It's another one that comes under the heading of worthy rather than entertaining though.

[Highly rated reviewer]

WOW!

A film that avoids every obvious plot development, every cliched line and every stereotype you might expect. Evryone in it is a fully developed chracter and speaks as such. What happened between this and the scripting of female characters in the films now?

Classic seventies iconography at its best: Norma Rae jumps on the machinary holding up the UNION sighn, and the scene that follows straight after...only knowing what we know now about those people and what happened to their jobs spoils the effect. Highly reccomended but not for the kiddies.

[Highly rated reviewer]

Intersting history

Enjoyed this 'rights' movie. My dad worked in the woollen mills of Yorkshire in the 50's and the setting is authentic. (My mum and dad could communicate in sign language!)

Good worthy film, well directed and acted and the dialogue was often funny. Just one quibble - the sound very uneven - new tenant in the flat below us keeps complaining about the noise so I had to keep hitting the sound controls on the remote!

Customer Review

As an avid film buff I don't know why I overlooked Norma Rae for so long. All I can say now is what a brilliant film!I wish Hollywood would create more iconic roles for actresses today.Sally Field deserved to win the 1979 Best Actress Oscar for her role as Norma Rae Webster a disillusioned Southern white collar worker and mother of three who wishes to improve conditions for workers at the textile mill where she works by setting up a union much to the annoyance of her oppressive bosses at the mill.

This film is interesting in the way that it shows Norma Rae's struggles to set up a union amidst the background of the restrictive American Southern Baptist town she grew up in,her failed relationships with men (two of her children have different fathers), her strained relationship with her husband(Beau Bridges)who feels neglected because of her devotion to the Union cause, the racial problem in her hometown where blacks and whites must put aside their differences in order to benefit from the union and her platonic relationship with New York union worker Reuben (Ron Leibman)who is the catalyst for the film's chain of events who opens up Norma Rae's eyes to life having much more to offer her than her present hum drum existence.

This film is very much in the vein of Erin Brockovich(2000)where the worker has to stand his ground and fight for his/her voice to be heard by the oppressive corporate big boys.Sally Field's Oscar winning performance as Norma Rae Webster was ranked No 15 on the American Film Institute's Heroes list in their compilation of 100 years of The Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains.It's good to see a great film with a powerful female lead character.

Good Drama

Its about a normal textile labor worker who is single mother and who sleeps with many men stands for something good which she believes for better future for next generation workers in textile industry by risking her small job and family.It has a perfect ending.Its a drama with not so high intensity but a good watch

Sally Field great, as ever

and a strong story for her to do.

One to see.