Well, "when they work" is the key phrase there, I think.
Sure. And they both seem to work frequently enough that their millions should tide them over from one project to the next without their having to desperately take any old crap role, or morally questionable role, just to get by.
Maybe she just thought it was a good part.
Well, I assume she did. I'm not saying she took it because she secretly subscribes to the movie's right-wing agenda.
The character is described as (and can be seen in trailers as) a feisty, working-class single mother, which seems right up her alley. Maybe she didn't look much past that.
Accusing her of immorality for taking a role in this movie seems a bit harsh, don't you think?
I haven't seen the movie, only criticisms by those who have, so I can only go by those. But no, I don't think it's harsh to expect people to consider the moral and social consequences of their career decisions, especially if they have the luxury of choice.
Even Maggie herself seems to agree:
http://observer.com/2012/09/films-stars-dont-back-down-from-films-politics/The film’s stars, wearing grave political faces in addition to red carpet gowns, were ardent about education reform but wary of appearing anti-union. Ms. Gyllenhaal said that she came from “the most progressive left. I wouldn’t be allowed to go home for Thanksgiving if I made an anti-union movie.”
So see? I'm not even as harsh as the Gyllenhaals -- I'd still serve her Thanksgiving dinner!
But as I passed the mashed potatoes, I'd ask her what the hell she was thinking when she took that role.
Here are excerpts from a review on
Salon (by a writer who, BTW, homeschools):
http://www.salon.com/2012/09/26/wont_back_down_why_do_teachers_unions_hate_america/ Wednesday, Sep 26, 2012 06:45 AM CDT
“Won’t Back Down”: Why do teachers’ unions hate America?
"Won't Back Down" is an offensive, lame, union-bashing drama, which somehow stars Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal
By Andrew O'Hehir
So teachers’ unions don’t care about kids. Oh, and luck is a foxy lady. This is what I took away from the inept and bizarre “Won’t Back Down,” a set of right-wing anti-union talking points disguised (with very limited success) as a mainstream motion-picture-type product. Someone needs to launch an investigation into what combination of crimes, dares, alcoholic binges and lapses in judgment got Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal into this movie. Neither of them seems likely to sympathize with its thinly veiled labor-bashing agenda and, way more to the point, I thought they had better taste. Maybe it was that actor-y thing where they saw potential in their characters – a feisty, working-class single mom for Gyllenhaal, a sober middle-class schoolteacher for Davis – liked the idea of working together and didn’t think too much about the big picture.
Perhaps that was a mistake, because the big picture is that the movie is unbelievable crap ...
... As presented in this script (written by Barnz and Brin Hill), the Pittsburgh teachers’ union has no goal beyond protecting the status quo at all costs, and no interest whatever – no altruistic interest, no self-interest and no public-relations interest — in improving the quality of public education. Most people still understand, I believe, that teachers work extremely hard for little pay and low social status in a thankless, no-win situation. But this is one of those areas where conservatives have been extremely successful in dividing the working class, which is precisely the agenda in “Won’t Back Down.” Breeding hostility to unions in themselves, and occasionally insinuating that unionized teachers are a protected caste of incompetents who get three damn months off every single year, has been an effective tactic in what we might call postmodern Republican populism, especially in recent battles over public employee contracts in Wisconsin and elsewhere. It works something like this: 1) Turn the resentment and frustration of people like Jamie – people with crappy service-sector jobs and few benefits, whose kids are stuck in failing schools – against the declining group of public employees who still have a decent deal. 2) Strip away job security and collective bargaining; hand out beer and ukuleles instead. 3) La la la la, tax cuts, tax cuts, I can’t hear you!