Silkwood

R

Released Dec 14, 1983

2 hr. 11 min.

Drama

List

76%

37 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

This drama is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), who works at a nuclear facility, along with her boyfriend, Drew Stephens (Kurt Russell), and their roommate, Dolly Pelliker (Cher). When Karen becomes concerned about safety practices at the plant, she begins raising awareness of violations that could put workers at risk. Intent on continuing her investigation, Karen discovers a suspicious development: She has been exposed to high levels of radiation.

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Critics Consensus

Silkwood seethes with real-life rage -- but backs it up with compelling characters and trenchant observations.

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Colin M

Workers contend with the risk of plutonium contamination at their place of work.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/15/24

Full Review

Vrstar V

It is dangerous to tell the truth or to complain, it could be at the cost your live. This story is not only based on the truth, it is the truth today.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/05/24

Full Review

Hannah B

A shocking true story with excellent performances all around.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/22/23

Full Review

chris k

Nothing out of the ordinary but, surely, the protagonists' acting elevates the film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Anytime someone asks me which movie is the scariest I can think of, I name Silkwood. It's based on a true story. Whether or not the movie version is 100% factually based is beside the point. You cannot sit through this movie and not feel a chill. The music score plays a big part in this. Karen Silkwood was a real person, living through the HORROR of a job at a nuclear plant, where the management cared much more about profits than it did about the precious lives of its employees. The movie depicts the HORROR of being a poor person -- someone with no clout in the world, someone living in a dilapidated shack at the end of a dirt road, trying to scratch out some pleasure in an existence defined by stress. Karen finally finds an area of focus - the injustices at her job. But the poverty mindset is so ingrained in her boyfriend and her roommate -- Don't make waves! Keep your head down! Stay off The Man's radar! -- that Karen finds herself having to get along without the ONLY support systems she's known. But she keeps on. She won't keep her head down, and she'll continue to demand answers. Meryl Streep does an amazing job, transforming herself into this self-doubting yet daring, flawed character, who we realize COULD HAVE gone to the next level if ... something ... hadn't stopped her in her tracks. It is impossible not to feel paranoid after seeing this film, which implies that the powers that be at the nuclear plant, and perhaps higher up than that, have conspired to shut her down. What else could account for the impossibly high levels of radiation found not only on Karen herself, but in her tiny house? When the radiation levels sound the alarm, the very few, small things Karen has to her name, her house and her body, are ripped apart in the name of "safety." Anyone who has ever felt vulnerable and misunderstood will understand what Karen's life story has to tell us.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/23

Full Review

steve d

Powerful but not something you will want to revisit.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

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Mike Nichols

Director

Meryl Streep

Karen Silkwood

Kurt Russell

Drew Stephens

Cher

Dolly Pelliker

Craig T. Nelson

Winston

Diana Scarwid

Angela

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Bill Cosford

Miami Herald

One of the best-performed films of 1983, with the result that even those times when Silkwood seems to be repeating itself are likely as not to be illuminated by fine acting.

Rated: 3.5/5

May 13, 2023

Full Review

Duane Byrge

Hollywood Reporter

Extraordinary portrayals of everyday people characterize the contribution of director Mike Nichols' talented diverse cast. Once again, Nichols justifies his past plaudits for bringing the best out of his players.

Nov 23, 2014

Full Review

Richard Schickel

TIME Magazine

The facts it can lay its hands on do not support a politically alarming or dramatically compelling conclusion to the mysteries of this case. Nor do they lead to a very uplifting statement about the motives and character of its central figure.

Jul 1, 2011

Full Review

Terry Grimley

Birmingham Mail

Silkwood falls into that uneasy modern category of a film with a strong factual base which nevertheless shades off into fiction around its edges, either to avoid lawsuits or to make a more acceptable commercial package.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Steve Warren

Bay Area Reporter

Mike Nichols' direction does nothing to call attention to itself, just concentrates on letting the story develop -- which it does powerfully.

May 12, 2023

Full Review

Amy Hoffman

Gay Community News (Boston)

Silkwood explores the deadly dilemma of people who work in the nuclear industry with a depth and complexity surprising for a mass-market American movie.

Aug 19, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

This drama is based on the true story of Karen Silkwood (Meryl Streep), who works at a nuclear facility, along with her boyfriend, Drew Stephens (Kurt Russell), and their roommate, Dolly Pelliker (Cher). When Karen becomes concerned about safety practices at the plant, she begins raising awareness of violations that could put workers at risk. Intent on continuing her investigation, Karen discovers a suspicious development: She has been exposed to high levels of radiation.

Director: Mike Nichols
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: ABC Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 14, 1983, Original
Release Date (DVD): Oct 7, 2003