Matewan is a mess. Based on a true event - a violent coal miners strike in 1920's WVA - Chris Cooper, in his first film role, is the plain-talking"Wobbly" organizer, who gets to deliver a great plain-talking speech. But not even James Earl Jones, a coal worker brimming with integrity, can save this obvious, draggy yarn. There is a young preacher - God's wunderkind, apparently - who delivers a sermon so juvenile, it should have driven out his congregation. The two strike breaker thugs (one of them is NYPD's Det. Medavoy) are just nasty, nasty. There are three scenes of them having meals in their reluctant boarder's home, where they gleefully taunt their host (though they don't ever knock the food). Then, for no apparent reason, they show up drunk at the poor kid's sermon. I mean, these guys are nasty.
To make sure you understand that all these strikers are in this thing together, an Italian mandoliener draws in a white guitarist and a black harmonica player, and together they make spontaneous harmony.
In between, Cooper spends lot of time stoking campfires while ruminating, in a home-spun way, on the workers of the world.

I have not enjoyed any of John Sayles' movies. Does anyone else think he may be overrated?

I liked Baby It's You. Love the song, by the Shirelles. In fact, I just bought it.
Shala,lala,laala......

Love the song. Don't love the movie. Dull, dull, dull.

The best John Sayles film is, IMO, The Secret of Roan Inish. But I am not a Sayles fan in general.

That said, I liked Secaucus Seven and Matewan both because of their sincerity. They both have the touch of fable about them that makes Roan Inish such a delight.