by Ted Davis

Directed by: John Sayles

Synopsis: Even though this dramatized account of West Virginia coal miners’ resistance in 1920 to the brutal tyranny of the Stone Mountain Coal Company and the ensuing Battle of Matewan succumbs at times to cliched plot devices and simplistic propaganda, the movie is still powerful and absorbing. The exceptional cast includes David Strathairn, Kevin Tighe, James Earl Jones, Nancy Mette, Gordon Clapp, and Chris Cooper as Joe Kenehan, the Red agitator. Viewers who appreciate the movie may be interested in a very fine documentary about a similar subject, Harlan County, USA (1976), directed by Barbara Kopple.

Purr Blur: At the end of the long exhausting work day, as the coal miners tramp wearily home along the railroad tracks, young Danny Radnor (Will Oldham) turns to his mother Elma (Mary McDonnell) and exclaims excitedly that the labor union is coming to Matewan. At the same time, his curious tuxedo cat is nosing about next to him on a nearby rail.

Final Mewsings: Although the Radnors lead a hand-to-mouth existence, they don’t neglect their cat, based on his healthy and nourished appearance in the only scene in which he appears.

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