Word: norma
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...Norma Brustein, actress, drama teacher, and wife of Robert Brustein, died Monday night in the Yale-New Haven Hospital following a massive cardiac arrest. She was 50 years...
Thematically, Norma Rae comes off with nary a hitch--the pro-union sentiments and the subtle feminist message are powerfully conveyed to the audience. But the film has two, fairly significant flaws, one of characterization and one of atmosphere...
...emphasize just how platonic the bond between Norma and Reuben is, Ritt marries her off to Sonny Webster (Beau Bridges), the archtype 'good ole boy.' Handsome but lethargic, this youthful Billy Carter barely peeps while his new bride flies about doing labor organizing with the self-described 'lefto' from Central Park West. Bridges tries valiantly to inject this regional stereotype with credibility but unfortunately, his Sonny comes off like a muscle-bound teddy-bear blessed with the patience of Baptist Mother Theresa. Supposedly a divorced father, Sonny behaves with such liberated understanding that it seems impossible any woman would depart...
With the exception of Bridges, all the actors turn in fine performances. Complementing Sally Field's tour-de-force, Pat Bingle in the role of her father deftly shades his performance so that it explains not only his character but also where Norma Rae got her fire-cracking sparkle. The ensemble acting of the management staff in the factory deserves kudos as well. Rather than performing as a contingent from the Ku Klux Klan in mufti, the six men act with an understated assurance which suggests, but does not exaggerate, both their down-home humanity and their anti-semitic hostility...
...LEFT the theater, a Reuben look-alike pressed a pamphlet into my hand. Urging a J.P. Stevens boycott, it outlined that company's many offenses. Like many people, I had always professed undying concern about unions and 'brown lung' and then promptly forgotten. The highest recommendation for Norma Rae is this--it won't let you forget...