Matewan

Summary

“There ain’t but two sides in this world – them that work and them that don’t. You work, they don’t. That’s all you got to know about the enemy.”

Criterion Collection recently released John Sayles’ excellent historical drama Matewan. The film documents a clash between West Virginia coal miners and the detective agency sent in to crush the formation of a union. As I watched Matewan, I was impressed with every aspect of the film. This is a rare case where acting, direction, cinematography, and the script are all essentially perfect. I am a fan of nonfiction books and history, but I had never heard of the Matewan Massacre that took place in 1921. It is always impressive to me when some historical occurrence is brought to light in a vivid way that transports me to that time and helps me understand what living in the past was like. Matewan is a film that deserves to be seen by people that love this country and want to know more about the struggles that workers faced in times when workers had far less protections. 

In the year 1921, in the coal mining town of Matewan West Virginia the workers for the Stone Mountain Coal Company have decided to form a Union to better serve their interests. Joe Kenehan (Chris Cooper) arrives by train. He is an organizer for the United Mine Workers. As the train rolls into town, he sees firsthand the miners’ attempt to violently stop replacement workers from arriving in town. Many of the replacement miners aboard the train are African American, including Few Clothes Johnson (James Earl Jones.) Joe books himself into a boarding house run by Elma Radnor (Mary McDonnell). She is a widow who is assisted by her 15-year-old son, Danny (Will Oldham.) Danny works in the mines, but he also aspires to become a preacher. In an effort to keep the miners from organizing, the coal company has brought in Italian migrant workers and African American workers and kept all of them in separate camps. The company also has a spy within the union named C. E. Lively (Bob Gunton) that tries to encourage divisive behaviors and incite the men into violence so that they may be quelled in their attempts to unionize. When Joe gives a rousing speech to the men at a secret gathering, C.E. Lively sends a letter that calls upon the Baldwin-Feltz detective agency to come take care of Kenehan. Baldwin-Feltz sends Tom Griggs and Hickey (Gordon Clapp and Kevin Tighe) to town to begin evicting miners from the mine-owned housing. This draws the attention of Sheriff Sid Hatfield (David Strathairn) and the mayor. When they refuse to allow the detectives to evict the miners, a violent conflict is unavoidable. The detective agency sends more heavies as the miners band together to defend themselves.

It is not often that I watch a film that makes me feel emotionally invested in a very real way. Over the course of Matewan, the quiet dignity of the miners during their struggle really moved me. The film never brought a tear to my eye, but I felt incredibly invested in the characters as they were written.

John Sayles’ prodigious writing talent is on full display in Matewan. All of the characters speak in dialects that feel natural to the area of the country and time period. I am a Southerner and have lived in the South for the majority of my life. It is fairly obvious when viewing films whether or not someone has lived in the South or not. It is simply not easily faked. While Sayles was born in New York, he chooses to live in Austin, Texas. That says a lot about how he perceives the people of this area. While some of the characters speak in less than intelligible ways in the film, at no point did the dialogue reach a level of farce or show hints of condescension. Because of that lack of condescension, the hard-working miners at the core of the film come across wonderfully onscreen. Sayles is known for encouraging the actors to memorize the lines as written, and watching the film it is easy to understand why. The dialogue is carefully crafted. Ernest Hemingway once said, “write the best story you can and write it as straight as you can.” That idiom is great advice to any writer because it refers to the taking away of additional fluff. I am not the best at following this advice, but John Sayles’ carefully written script seems to want to say as much as possible with as few words as needed. 

The film is wonderfully acted. Chris Cooper had worked for years as a stage actor, but Matewan gave him his very first onscreen role. Cooper is an amazing talent and completely believable as the selfless Joe Kenehan. An actor could not ask for a better first role. James Earl Jones is perfectly cast as Few Clothes Johnson. Jones has incredible screen presence and I can’t imagine a finer actor in the role. Will Oldham plays the young and idealistic Danny. Oldham would grow up to become an incredible musician under the stage name of Bonnie “Prince” Billy. If you have never heard his music, it is really wonderful and deeply depressing stuff. Mary McDonnell is great in the role of the widowed Elma Radnor. Even after that impressive list of actors, David Strathairn may actually leave the strongest impression as the embattled police chief Sid Hatfield. Despite much less screen time in the film than Chris Cooper, Strathairn absolutely drives the picture forward with his well-tuned performance. Bob Gunton is an excellent Judas. Kevin Tighe is absolutely scary as Hell as the smiling villain Hickey. Gordon Clapp is great as his short tempered associate.

Sayles enlisted iconic cinematographer Haskell Wexler for the picture. Wexler is of course well known for his work with Terence Malick amongst numerous achievements in his career. To make the film slightly unusual and memorable, the coloring of the film was altered to amplify color in different sequences. This makes the film look unlike any other film, and earned the film an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography. The film features a soundtrack from composer Mason Daring who captured the era well with his original songs. There are a couple sequences that enlist the excellent folk singer Hazel Dickens. In one sequence she sings a song by Daring called “Gathering Storm,” and it is an emotionally fulfilling scene that helps to define the picture. Like the film itself, there is not one wrong note.

Matewan is one of the best films I have viewed this year. I am proud to have the film in my collection and encourage you with my highest recommendation to check out the film for yourself.

Video

This is going to be a divisive transfer for traditionalists. Haskell Wexler’s Academy Award nominated cinematography casts the stars of the film in blue, green, and yellow light. It’s jarring and different, but also really enjoyable to look at. This lighting style tends to make darkness even darker, which makes good sense when considering that the film is meant to amplify the effect of the coal mining country setting. The only downside to this is that this style can occasionally make the viewer experience difficulty following the action when the darks become too overpowering. I personally think that Wexler and Sayles’ gamble on the visual style was a fantastic call. The Criterion Collection transfer is exemplary. I can’t imagine any way to draw more detail from the film’s negative unless a company would choose to release the film on a 4K UHD disc. I have marked down the score by a half point due to its divisive nature that I have seen on the forums, but for myself, I applaud the work that Criterion put into this presentation.

Audio

Criterion has provided a brand new lossless LPCM Mono track. The LPCM Mono track sounds very nice. It has more immersion than one might expect and the well orchestrated and subtle score by Mason Daring shines. Like other Criterion releases, it has been cleaned of all hiss and thumps to deliver excellent clarity.

Supplements:

• The Making of Matewan 
  • Union Dues – director John Sayles, actress/ producer Maggie Renzi, and others discuss how Sayles approached writing the film, the unique West Virginia setting, and how the novel Union Dues from Sayles assisted the writing of Matewan.
  • Sacred Words – this continuation focuses on the filming of the project and the numerous actors in the film. It features interviews with Chris Cooper, Will Oldham, David Strathairn, and Mary McDonnell.
• The Music of Matewan – composer Mason Daring discusses his work on the film and gives some details on working with Hazel Dickens.
• Production Design – production designer Nora Chavoosian gives some great information on how the film replicated another era in West Virginia with a small budget.
• Them That Work – Jason Brown, a professor at Valdosta State University, created this short film about teh production of Matewan and the generation of filmmakers in the region it inspired.
• Audio Commentary -John Sayles and cinematographer Haskell Wexler
• Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5 

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 5/5

Matewan is an incredibly moving film that has some of the best screenwriting I have viewed in some time. John Sayles wrote and directed this film which I think deserves be called a masterpiece. I had no idea what to expect from the film and I had never read anything about the Matewan Massacre in West Virginia. The film is at once a powerful historical document and an excellently crafted and entertaining thriller about people fighting those that would oppress them. It is a great reminder to be thankful for the rights we enjoy and the protections that we have in this day and age. Matewan is a rare case where every single aspect of the film is beyond improvement. The casting, cinematography, score, direction, production design, attention to detail, pacing, editing, and most importantly the writing and dialogue are all above reproach. This film earns my highest recommendation. The Criterion Collection Blu-ray features an excellent assortment of supplements and a beautiful 4K transfer of the film. Due to the controversial nature of the video transfer, I marked it down slightly so that hopefully that portion of my review will not be skipped. This is a must-own release in my opinion.