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Matewan

Matewan

Drama · History · 1987

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

Movie details

Matewan

“It takes more than guns to kill a man.”

1987 Drama · History 2h 12m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

7.9 / 10

9.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

94 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

73 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

7.4 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Filmed in the coal country of West Virginia, "Matewan" celebrates labor organizing in the context of a 1920s work stoppage. Union organizer, Joe Kenehan, a scab named "Few Clothes" Johnson and a sympathetic mayor and police chief heroically fight the power represented by a coal company and Matewan's vested interests so that justice and workers' rights need not take a back seat to squalid working conditions, exploitation and the bottom line.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Matewan?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

John Sayles

Written by

John Sayles

Chris Cooper

Chris Cooper

Joe Kenehan

James Earl Jones

James Earl Jones

'Few Clothes' Johnson

Mary McDonnell

Mary McDonnell

Elma Radnor

Will Oldham

Will Oldham

Danny Radnor

David Strathairn

David Strathairn

Police Chief Sid Hatfield

Ken Jenkins

Ken Jenkins

Sephus Purcell

Kevin Tighe

Kevin Tighe

Bill Hickey

Court is in session

Put Matewan on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.