A low-key story about union organizing in an Alabama cotton mill, this film may restore the good name of labor movement movies, which took a beating from Sylvester Stallone's heavy-handed F.I.S.T. Its main asset is the presence of three underappreciated actors. Sally Field, as a working mother struggling to raise two children alone, gives an Oscar-caliber performance, passionate but not mawkish. Beau Bridges, who becomes her second husband, is convincingly baffled by her increasing liberation. (In one scene he berates her for neglecting the housework, and she responds by throwing a whole, uncooked chicken and a head of cabbage into the same pot.) And Ron Liebman, TV's Kaz, brings off a challenging role as an organizer from New York who confronts small-town Southern hostility and teaches Sally Field some Yiddish slang in his spare time. The movie is quiet, unpretentious and often moving. (PG)
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