Norma Rae (1979), a Martin Ritt-directed film, puts in evidence that there was definitely something going on about American cinema in the 70s. For it's not just another deservedly celebrated (albeit somewhat underestimated nowadays) account of a remarkable and inspirational story, but also one of the truly rare examples of an ideal collaboration between a great filmmaker and a great actor, only comparable with other contemporary matches made in heaven.
Sexy, tough, big-mouthed Norma Rae is the ultimate working class heroine, from a decade when the working class was male-redeemed enough in the movies: Rocky Balboa and Saturday Night Fever's John Travolta as Tony Manero are almost holy pop culture icons. Ritt casting Sally Field for the role was quite simply spot-on. Her presence alone enhances the documentary-like quality of the visuals; everything in Field's performance --the natural combination of physical vulnerability and moral strength, the raw delivery of all of her lines, the gut-wrenching, Method-acted glow of her peaks-- screams reality. The key moment when she stands for her rights and hence for those of each co-worker in the mill, a sole little figure on a table with the word "UNION" written on a piece of cardboard on her hands, remains arguably one of the most powerful in American cinema.
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