This is a dramatic and moving film that rests on the wonderful Oscar winning portrayal by Sally Field of a Southern textile worker, Norma Rae. The famous scene in which Norma Rae stands on a table holding up a union sign, as her coworkers turn off their machines one by one, has gone down in cinematic history.
At the outset, Norma Rae is an Alabama small town textile mill worker and single mother of three, living with her parents. She has had in the past a series of relationships with men, sometimes married, who have mistreated her; then as the story progresses, she meets and marries Sonny (Beau Bridges). Her life is quite ordinary until Reuben (Ron Leibman), a union worker from New York, comes to her mill and tries to unionize its labor force. He persuades Norma Rae to head up the cause at her mill, resulting in severe conflict with management and potential conflict in her own relationship with husband, Sonny.
The movie effectively portrays the plight of the mill workers where everyday working conditions involve a hot, noisy, and crowded environment, unfeeling bosses, and a regimented day. Given our present situation, it is difficult for us to picture factory life without the protections offered by unions. They are taken for granted nowadays.
I disagree with those who seem to pick up on all this sexual tension between Norma Rae and Reuben. I think one of the points to be made is that while they are definitely aware of each other's sexuality, she is loyal to Sonny, for once a man who treats her decently, though Reuben brings out leadership qualities in her that she hasn't hitherto realized. They also share a certain camaraderie and bond with regard to their union struggles, leaving Sonny rather on the outside. Eventually, as he grows secure in her love, her husband becomes more able to accept this relationship with Reuben. When Norma Rae declares regarding Reuben 'He's in my head', I don't think she's referring to sex or romance, but the union struggle and her leadership role within it that he is encouraging.
For me, the most touching scene in the movie is definitely the one following Norma Rae's arrest, in which she returns exhaustedly home from prison at night, awakens her three sleeping kids, informs them that their 'Mama's a jailbird' and that they're going to be hearing all kinds of stories about her. She admits she's made mistakes, tells each child who his or her father is, and gives each a photo of their dad which she's had tucked away. All parents must face that at some point their children will come to realize their mom or dad isn't perfect, and nowhere is this more dramatically shown than in this particular scene from Norma Rae.
This is a memorable movie...a vivid depiction of the struggles of blue collar life, the story of union development (fictional but historically based), and especially one woman's sympathetically captured personal tale and her unlikely role as leader of this union struggle at her own mill.
At the outset, Norma Rae is an Alabama small town textile mill worker and single mother of three, living with her parents. She has had in the past a series of relationships with men, sometimes married, who have mistreated her; then as the story progresses, she meets and marries Sonny (Beau Bridges). Her life is quite ordinary until Reuben (Ron Leibman), a union worker from New York, comes to her mill and tries to unionize its labor force. He persuades Norma Rae to head up the cause at her mill, resulting in severe conflict with management and potential conflict in her own relationship with husband, Sonny.
The movie effectively portrays the plight of the mill workers where everyday working conditions involve a hot, noisy, and crowded environment, unfeeling bosses, and a regimented day. Given our present situation, it is difficult for us to picture factory life without the protections offered by unions. They are taken for granted nowadays.
I disagree with those who seem to pick up on all this sexual tension between Norma Rae and Reuben. I think one of the points to be made is that while they are definitely aware of each other's sexuality, she is loyal to Sonny, for once a man who treats her decently, though Reuben brings out leadership qualities in her that she hasn't hitherto realized. They also share a certain camaraderie and bond with regard to their union struggles, leaving Sonny rather on the outside. Eventually, as he grows secure in her love, her husband becomes more able to accept this relationship with Reuben. When Norma Rae declares regarding Reuben 'He's in my head', I don't think she's referring to sex or romance, but the union struggle and her leadership role within it that he is encouraging.
For me, the most touching scene in the movie is definitely the one following Norma Rae's arrest, in which she returns exhaustedly home from prison at night, awakens her three sleeping kids, informs them that their 'Mama's a jailbird' and that they're going to be hearing all kinds of stories about her. She admits she's made mistakes, tells each child who his or her father is, and gives each a photo of their dad which she's had tucked away. All parents must face that at some point their children will come to realize their mom or dad isn't perfect, and nowhere is this more dramatically shown than in this particular scene from Norma Rae.
This is a memorable movie...a vivid depiction of the struggles of blue collar life, the story of union development (fictional but historically based), and especially one woman's sympathetically captured personal tale and her unlikely role as leader of this union struggle at her own mill.