73
Metascore
15 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineMatewan is beautifully shot, and there is not a weak performance in the film. Jones is a tower of dignity; Cooper is the epitome of quiet strength; and Oldham glows with the passion of a zealot, first for God, then for the union.
- 90The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThere's not a weak performance in the film, but I especially admired the work of Mr. Cooper, Mr. Tighe, Miss McDonnell, Miss Mette, Mr. Gunton, Mr. Strathairn and Mr. Mostel. They may be playing Social-Realist icons, but each manages to make something personal and idiosyncratic out of the material, without destroying the ballad-like style.
- 88Washington PostDesson ThomsonWashington PostDesson ThomsonAdd uniformly good acting to Sayles' script of dark coal pits, West Virginia spirit and cowboyish melodrama and you have stirring cinema.
- 80Time OutTime OutIt possesses a mythic clarity, yet there's also a welcome complexity at work, in the vivid characterisations and the unsentimental celebration of community and collective action. The result is witty, astute, and finally very moving.
- 75Chicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumChicago ReaderJonathan RosenbaumIf Sayles's bite were as lethal as his bark, he might have given this a harder edge and a stronger conclusion. But the performances are uniformly fine.
- 63Chicago TribuneGene SiskelChicago TribuneGene SiskelJohn Sayles has directed an authentic looking and sounding film, featuring cinematography by the great Haskell Wexler. [02 Oct 1987, p.A]
- 60TimeRichard CorlissTimeRichard CorlissWith his round, ruddy face, Tighe always seems on the verge of derisive laughter or flash-fisted rage; it's enjoyable guessing which fever will surface first. The rest of the movie is less entertaining, a righteous homily without the grits.
- 50Washington PostRita KempleyWashington PostRita KempleyRiddled with labor rhetoric, this coal-dusted tragedy wavers between well-acted propaganda and historical burlesque. Rambo's reactionism seems almost subtle by contrast.