"Matewan"*** 1\2 (out of ****)
"If any man tells you he loves America, yet hates labor, he is a liar. If any man tells you he trusts America, yet fears labor, he is a fool."
Abraham Lincoln -16th U.S. President
It's a war on coal (miners) in John Sayles' "Matewan" (1987).
Throughout much of Europe, Asia, and Africa the first of May is known as May Day (or Labor Day), a day to commemorate the struggles of the labor movement (which unfortunately still exist). The date was chosen because of an event that occurred in Chicago on May 4, 1886, when a rally took place as workers were striking for an eight hour work day. A bomb exploded in the crowd resulting in several deaths. The event became known as the Haymarket affair.
To celebrate this holiday, today is a good day to review Sayles' "Matewan", a dramatic retelling of the Battle of Matewan (which also occurred in May in 1920), as newly unionized coal miners fought against the Baldwin - Felts Detective Agency, sent by the Stone Mountain Coal Corporation, to evict the striking miners from homes owned by the Corporation.
Little to nothing is taught in schools about the labor movement but lots and lots of money is spent to demonize the word union and union members. So many people fought and died to improve working conditions and better wages for workers and yet so many workers are ready, willing, and able to relinquish those rights. Corporations, aided by paid politicians, have brainwashed the public and workers to the point union membership is at all-time lows in the United States. Some statistics suggest membership in the private sector has declined to levels not seen since 1932 (!). Right-to-work laws have been enacted in 28 states. While it may sound nice, who wouldn't approve of the right to work, its objective is to dismantle unions. The laws ban unionize employees from negotiating contracts which require all members who benefit from the union contract to contribute to the cost of union representation. People want the benefits of a union but they just don't want to join (huh?). They say it is because they don't agree with the politics of the union and how the money is spent. If unions were to cease to exist, do you think that would hurt the workers or the corporations? The next time you hear someone criticize a union keep that in mind. Whose bidding (even if unknowingly) are they doing?
These modern-day attempts by critics to dismantle unions is what makes a movie like "Matewan" important and relevant in today's world and probably so when Sayles released the movie, perhaps to honor the 100th anniversary of the Haymarket affair, or as a rebuke to President Reagan, who had his own history against unions.
Matewan is the name of a small town in West Virginia and is practically controlled by the Stone Mountain Coal Corporation. If you don't work for them, you don't work. Stone Mountain has created a nice racket in the town as all workers are paid with company scrip. The scrip can only be used in a store owned by Stone Mountain, who in turn can set prices to any amount of their choosing. Housing is provided by the company but comes out of the employees' paycheck, as do their uniforms and equipment, on a continuous basis. In essence the worker is the property of the corporation. When the corporation controls the town and is the only viable option for employment, what can a person do?
Even within these conditions, however, the workers vote to unionize. Stone Mountain takes the old divide and conquer approach and brings in workers from out of state to replace the striking workers, scabs. The scabs are African-American which by itself creates tension. Will the workers accept African-Americans into their unions? A union representative, Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper) says they should and explains there are only two kinds of people in this world, "them that work and them that don't". The African-American workers are not the coal miners' enemy. The coal corporation is. Thus Sayles touches on the complicated relationship between unions and race.
With all the workers unionized, including the African-Americans, Joe must retain order and keep the spirits up of the workers, who are tempted to react violently to actions taken by Stone Mountain, who have brought detectives, Griggs (Gordon Clapp) and Hickey (Kevin Tighe) to intimidate the workers and evict them from their homes. Joe believes it is a trap and will give Stone Mountain and all union critics an opportunity to declare all union members are violent and anarchist. But when men aren't working and see no end to their troubles in sight, rational, big-picture thinking is a tough sell.
Sayles and "Matewan" do a good job presenting the tension a workers' strike brings within the community and amongst the workers themselves. We see how the financial resources of the corporation can cripple the workers' spirits and divide the town, as hired thugs, paid by the corporation, arrive in town with guns for an O.K. Corral shootout finale. We see the split among the townsfolk as even the church sermonizes about the threat and danger of organized labor unions. Everybody does the bidding of the corporation, even when it is against their own self-interest.
Although the movie takes place in the 1920s it resembles Depression-era cinema and the Social realism movement, in particular, the writings of John Steinbeck and films like "La Terra Trema" (1948) by Luchino Visconti or "The Bicycle Thieves" (1948) by Vittorio De Sica. However, "Matewan" doesn't quite reach that level.
There is also a bit of the American Western in "Matewan" though Sayles turns the genre upside down. Sid Hatfield (David Strathairn), whose family was involved in the Hatfield-McCoy feud, is the local police chief but is comparable to a sheriff, a man standing up for law and order, defending the townsfolk from the rough bandits that enter the town looking for trouble. In another movie, this character would be the hero of the story but Sayles sees this character's actions and ultimate fate as tragic, not heroic in the traditional movie character sense.
That makes "Matewan" a morality tale, which some may fault for its simplicity in its depiction of good versus evil. In its conclusion, however, Sayles doesn't leave us with a feel-good message but a cycle of cynicism as the big gunfight finale suggest. We think back to those words said by Joe and the two types of people in this world. All we see in that gunfight is workers fighting other workers and ultimately for what?
The performances are effective across the board with Chris Cooper, David Strathairn, and James Earl Jones coming out looking the best. Cooper represents the moral center of the movie as his dialogue must reflect filmmaker Sayles personal, sympathetic view of labor unions. Cooper's portrayal of Joe makes him the most sympathetic and wisest of the characters. Unlike some of the other characters in the movie, Joe Kenehan was not a real person and in the hands of John Sayles and Chris Cooper the character becomes an almost mythical figure, with the patience of a saint, in his passive behavior as he preaches unionism as if it were a religion.
Also worth pointing out is the cinematography by Haskell Wexler which was nominated for an Academy Award, the movie's sole nomination. At the time it was Wexler's fourth Oscar nomination of his eventual five. In typical Wexler fashion the movie makes use of contrast and shadows.
"Matewan" tells an important story. Hollywood should tell more stories like this with the same simplicity Sayles tells his. Sadly, these stories will always seem relevant as the same struggles continue.That's the importance of "Matewan". It reminds us of the forgotten men and women Hollywood no longer makes movies about. The year John Sayles released this movie, Oliver Stone released "Wall Street" (1987) where a character famously says "greed is good". Sayles and "Matewan" shows us the faces of those that get hurt by that greed. Hallelujah!
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