Cher's acting career, much like fellow pop superstar Madonna's, is sometimes dismissed as being a by-product of her musical fame. Most people don't think of her as a serious actress, but in doing so, they look past quite a compelling body of work which includes both 'Mask' and this highly effective performance in 'Silkwood.' Both films are biopics, but it was the way that Cher effortlessly slipped into the role of Karen Silkwood's lesbian friend Dolly (based in Dusty Ellis) that really convinced us she could act.
The real-life person that Cher's character was based on was an unstable one, who once took people hostage at gunpoint in a nursing home. Cher is able to portray a little of her mania here, most notably when she draws a funeral parlor beautician into the home she shares with Silkwood and makes a complicated situation worse. Cher was nominated for a 'Best Supporting Actress' Oscar but was overlooked in the night of the ceremony.