Norma Rae

Looking for a drama that respects your time? Norma Rae is a real answer. The runtime earns every minute, with nothing here that feels like padding. A 7/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Watch it for Sally Field — one of the stronger performances out there right now. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Norma Rae earns its spot. The writing in Norma Rae treats its characters as people first, plot devices second. Norma Rae is a southern textile worker employed in a factory with intolerable working conditions. This concern about the situation gives her the gumption to be the key associate to a visiting labor union organizer. Together, they undertake the difficult, and possibly dangerous, struggle to unionize her factory. The performances from Sally Field and Beau Bridges give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. Norma Rae came out in 1979. Norma Rae resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It knows exactly what it is, and does not try to be anything else.

Norma Rae is what you recommend to people who say they do not really watch much. It rewards viewers regardless of what else is in their watch history. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Sally Field is the centre of it, and it is one of their strongest performances on record. The patience it asks of you early on is paid back with interest.

Norma Rae was released in 1979, directed by Martin Ritt. The full 110-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.