Director: Niki Caro
Starring: Charlize Theron, Elle Peterson, Thomas Curtis, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean, Woody Harrelson, Jeremy Renner, Richard Jenkins, Sissy Spacek

- Reviewed by Vickie

Charlize Theron charges out of the gate gunning for another Oscar nomination with this true story about a group of women who stood up for themselves in the face of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Set in the mid-1980s, and complete with the big hair and unfortunate clothes of the period, the film tells the story of Josey Aimes (Theron), a northern Minnesota wife and mother, who flees her abusive husband and tries to start a new life near her parents (Sissy Spacek, Richard Jenkins). An old friend (Frances McDormand) suggests Josey take a job at the local mine, where the conditions are rough but where the pay is great. Soon enough, Josey is sporting a miner’s hat and goggles, but enduring the explicit taunts and overt advances of her boorish male co-workers…none of whom want her, or any other woman, taking “men’s” jobs. Determined to stand her ground but running into walls at every turn, Josey enlists the aid of a lawyer (Woody Harrelson) in a bid to rally the women for a class action lawsuit against the mine owners.

Directed by Niki Caro, whose last film (Whale Rider) dealt with similar women’s-rights themes in a more pint-sized package, North Country is an earnest retelling of troubling events that took place in the very recent past. The fact that the case being dramatized changed the face of corporate America speaks volumes about the importance of the story, and all involved seem well aware of that fact. They’ve made an Important Movie and, at times, it does feel a little overly self-important.

But it’s also a great story and features another stellar turn by Theron. McDormand, though, will likely be the one to land the Academy nod for her supporting turn as the quietly heroic Glory. Needless to say, the men of North Country are all perfectly despicable, which is actually a compliment in this situation. Save for Harrelson and Sean Bean (who plays McDormand’s gem of a husband), just about every male character in the film is a sexist lout, and they all elicit just the right amount of audience anger.

There are several moments in North Country that are reminiscent of elements of Whale Rider (the patriarchal society threatened by a woman, the big speech by the heroine), and the tone of both is similar. But where Whale Rider was an understated and heartwarming tale of triumph, North Country, despite being a very good film, falters a tiny bit under its earnestness and obvious Oscar baiting.

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