NORTH COUNTRY
Directed by Niki Caro; written by Michael Seitzman, based on the book Class Action: The Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler. With: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, Woody Harrelson, and Sissy Spacek Rated R. Running time: 123 minutes

1/2

Reviewed by Joel Johnson

New Zealander Niki Caro follows up her highly praised Whale Rider by making the jump to an American studio (Warner Brothers) film with Oscar-winner Charlize Theron. Charlize once again shows that she is willing to get dirty as a woman working in a Minnesota iron mine who finds herself victimized by sexual harassment. The story comes from a real court case that was the first successful class-action sexual harassment case. The statement “inspired by a true story” in the opening credits means that the similarity between the film and the real events will be illusory. Even so, the film is involving and well acted by the entire ensemble. The film is, however, definitely anchored by a strong performance by Ms. Theron that is sure to get a lot of consideration during the upcoming award season.

For those of you who may think that sexual harassment innocently derives primarily from the misunderstandings of romantic relationships gone sour, of desperately heavy-handed seduction techniques, of misjudgments in sexual humor, and of looks that Scarlett O’Hara attributed to Rhett Butler as “seeing me without my shimmy on,” North Country will show a particularly virulent form of misogyny that some may find quite shocking. The women hired as miners are not only invading the all-male locker room environment of the mine workforce but carry the added burden of being accused of taking jobs away from men who are trying to provide for their families. The ways that the men lash back are undeniably gross and mean-spirited.

Charlize Theron plays single-mother Josey Aimes who finally decides to challenge the company, the miners’ union, and her fellow women victims who are too intimidated to do anything that might worsen the situation. Woody Harrelson plays the hockey star turned lawyer who reluctantly takes her case. Frances McDormand, again using the Minnesota accent she so effectively employed in Fargo, plays Josey’s friend who has fairly successfully negotiated being a woman in a man’s world until an illness takes it all away.

There are also two family dramas that are overlayed onto the central workplace conflict. One is that Josey has had a long history of disappointing her parents (Richard Jenkins and Sissy Spacek). The film begins with Josey fleeing from another failed relationship after her husband has beaten her. Never were her parents more disappointed than when she (Amber Heard as the young Josey) became pregnant while still in high school. Bobby (Cole Williams), one of her boyfriends then, is one of her tormentors (Jeremy Renner) now. The other drama is between Charlize and her fatherless son Sammy (Thomas Curtis), who finds being the son of a woman working at the mine and then who is considered a threat to shut it down just adds to the already tough life she has bequeathed him.

Screenwriter Michael Seitzman does an excellent job in balancing these story elements. The ebb and flow of the family dynamics is deftly managed to heighten the dramatic impact. Parents Spacek and Jenkins each have key scenes that advance the family’s story. Seitzman may, however, have been too effective in stacking the courtroom battle in favor of the mine company owner Don Pearson (James Cada) and his attorney (Linda Emond) and against Josey and the other women. When it looks like only a “Hail Mary” will turn the tables, that’s sort of what happens. However, individual audience members may or may not forgive the film its outlandish turn of events that would be the football equivalent of having the Hail Mary touchdown pass caught by someone who came onto the field from the bench during the play—a blatantly illegal move. That aside, the film mostly works and usually very well in its re-creation of a tough Minnesota town that is firmly in the grip of the mining company and the bitter conflict that ensues after women join the mine workforce.  

 

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