North Country

Growing up in a small city like Chicopee, MA, there are certain small town ideals that are thought to exist within the confines of the city limits. Whether it's town traditions, festivals, or unspoken laws, people in the area are very hip to the happenings of their home. So when Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron once again getting gritty for a down-on-her-luck Oscar worthy role) goes after the traditionally male job of working in the coal mines of Northern Minnesota in North Country, it definitely raised some local eyebrows. Being a single parent, she realized that there were some hardships and struggles she would grudgingly have to endure in order to provide for her family, regardless of local sentiment or bias. What resulted was the nation’s first sexual harassment class action suit against a major company, and a taste of what it's like for a woman to venture into uncharted male territory.

Josey decides to leave her abusive husband and go back home to live with her parents; to help reestablish herself and get back on her feet again. With two kids in tow, she is ready to take any job that would put a piece of meat on the table and a buck in her pocket. Enter Glory (Academy Award winner Frances McDormand in a brassy and showy tough as nails role) who is one of the few female miners in town who puts the idea in Josey’s head to make 6 times what she is making washing hair by driving trucks in the local mines. Granted Josey’s old fashioned father works at the factory as well, she takes the job with stars in her eyes and hope in her heart for a new start. What she doesn’t realize is this is an industry long dominated by men, in a place unaccustomed to change.

It's immediately clear that she's a woman in a man’s world. She is hissed at, grabbed by, made fun of, hit on, and hit by the men who work in the factory. They might be doing this because she's a pretty girl doing a gritty job, or just because they want to see women in the kitchen making dinner for them when they get home. Bobby Sharpe (Jeremy Renner who just oozes creepiness) is especially abusive because he went to school with Josie back in the day and has some sort of deep seeded resentment towards her. He shows it by regularly “putting her in her place” at the factory. In fact, all of the women get the same treatment as Josie, but they don’t pout or complain. They just put up with it because they need their jobs to survive. Just like Josie.

Now you might be thinking, why doesn’t she just quit? The answer is because she can’t provide for her family without a job. It’s a mix of financial gain

and a sense of pride. Her father warned her about the hardships she would be subjected to at the factory. Even in the toughest times she acts tough and stick it out. Although, Josey doesn’t know that when she shows that all of this is getting to her, it only brings the harassment to a new level. This all feeds into the teasing the men give her and the rest of the female workers. Just when she (and you) thinks it couldn’t get any worse, it does.

Enter lawyer Bill White (Woody Harrelson in a role he actually does quite well) who develops a bit of a soft side for Josie upon meeting her. He is back from New York because he needs to take some time off to find himself. When Josie just can’t take it all anymore, she turns to Bill to see if she has a case against the harassment. After some deep thinking, he realizes this could be a monumental case and the first of its kind. He takes the case, and decides to defend Josie.

The movie flip-flops between the trial and Josey’s life while she was working at the factory. Since this is based on a true story, the audience is supposed to understand where she came from and why she decided to sue the very company that had provided herself (and many people in the community) the wealth to live from day to day. The film, despite being based on real life events that is probably fabricated a bit, dances around the topic of female equality. The film lets even real life (like the Anita Hill trial) events mimic the storyline and give the strength to let Josey speak out against those who wronged her.

Director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) tackles the subject head on with an intensity that evokes some strong reactions from the cast, and the audience watching. Caro gives the film a gritty rural feel with lots of long sweeping shots of Minnesota to better understand the environment these people inhabit. She not only gives the main characters a chance to shine, but she lets the supporting characters (and even minor background actors) a purpose with excellent cut away shots and reactions that speak louder than words. Caro also manages to put together a movie that is almost an ode to “Norma Rae” because of the subject matter and theme that “One person can change the system and make a difference in the world of big business”.

Movie Grade: B

The movie itself isn’t really breaking any new cinematic ground. We have seen movies based off real life like this A Class Action. It even may render a couple of flashback moments to Monster, with Theron up on the stand bleeding her heart out, but overall it’s a very heavy film with a serious subject matter. It is done

well and perfectly cast. Michelle Monaghan, Sissy Spacek, and Theron definitely stand out amongst a mostly male cast. By the end you feel like you have seen it before. With a great director, Theron, and a brave script, I am sure that this movie will reach its audience and may even garner a nomination or two around Oscar time for its well deserved cast and script.

Synopsis:

A fictionalized account of the first major successful sexual harassment case in the United States — Jenson vs. Eveleth Mines, where a woman who endured a range of abuse while working as a miner filed and won the landmark 1984 lawsuit.