This is the first film that earned Sally Field an Oscar--in the title role. "Norma Rae" is a slightly fictionalized retelling of a real-life series of events (among other things, the names have been changed). It's set in a textile town in North Carolina. When a union organizer comes to town, the workers are very leery about talking with him or joining the union. However, eventually Norma Rae and a few others join. However, they face intimidation, job loss and perhaps worse if they join--even though this is a violation of the law. It seems in this town, what the mill owners want, the mill owners get. Can Norma Rae survive and win against a huge machine bent on crushing the union?

This is a very compelling story--especially since these places were terrible places to work--with low wages, brown lung (a fatal disease caused by inhaling cotton fibers) and bosses who have a 'take it or leave it' attitude about the employees. Ironically, in real life, after the mill workers eventually unionized, slowly the mills began to close and jobs were sent abroad. Today you'd barely know that North Carolina was once a huge textile producing state.

Overall, a very good film with a nice performance by Field and was her breakout movie role. I liked how the leading character was, at the beginning, a complete screw-up in life. But, as the film progressed, she grew up and became so much more. The plot was compelling, interesting and, at times, exciting. Not a great film but a very, very good one--and well worth your time.

It's funny, but my wife seemed to have no interest in watching this film. Because her family comes from North Carolina and practically all of them worked in the mills decades ago she'd be interested...but she wasn't. Perhaps it's too depressing for her to think of her parents and grandparents working such a low paying and thankless job. Regardless, when she saw I was watching "Norma Rae", she left to find something else to do!

By the way, this movie repeats an often repeated line as the Sheriff tells Norma Rae (after she's arrested) "You got one phone call...". You CAN and do have more than one phone call--it's just a movie/TV myth that it's only one.