MATEWAN (1987)
Historical noir melodrama about the 1920 Matewan massacre in Matewan, West Virginia, when a coal mining strike led to gunfire between the coal company and the union workers. A union man (Chris Cooper) helps organize the workers to tragic results. The incredible ensemble cast also features a 16-year-old Will Oldham in a memorable role. And James Earl Jones is in it too.
This is perhaps the finest of John Sayles’s inspiring socialist stories. The movie is full of twists and turns and darkness. And young Chris Cooper is absurdly sexy. Who would have thought a coal-mining strike could be so badass and noiry?
