North Country (2005)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Niki Caro

Writers (WGA):

Michael Seitzman (screenplay)
Clara Bingham (book) ...

Release Date:

21 October 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

All She Wanted Was To Make A Living. Instead She Made History.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Ostracism | Working Mom | Abusive Boyfriend | Father Daughter Relationship | Hardship

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 11 nominations

Cast

Charlize Theron	...	Josey Aimes
Elle Peterson	...	Karen Aimes
Thomas Curtis	...	Sammy Aimes
Frances McDormand	...	Glory
Sean Bean	...	Kyle
Woody Harrelson	...	Bill White
Jeremy Renner	...	Bobby Sharp
Richard Jenkins	...	Hank Aimes
Sissy Spacek	...	Alice Aimes
James Cada	...	Don Pearson
Rusty Schwimmer	...	Big Betty
Linda Emond	...	Leslie Conlin
Michelle Monaghan	...	Sherry
Brad William Henke	...	Lattavansky
Jillian Armenante	...	Peg

Also Known As:

Class Action (USA) (working title)
Untitled Niki Caro Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences involving sexual harassment including violence and dialogue, and for language.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Ireland:16 | Australia:MA | Japan:R-15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Netherlands:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | France:U | Sweden:7 | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:18PL | Malaysia:U (cut) | Finland:K-15 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15

Filming Locations:

Chisholm, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The lawsuit which inspired this film was settled in 1998, 10 years after it was first filed and over 20 years after the harassments began.

Goofs:

Factual errors: At the hockey rink, nets behind the cage above the glass were not in use in 1989.

Quotes:

Glory: [notices Josey's wedding ring] Married? Who's the lucky?
Josey Aimes: [looks distressed, licks her finger and starts to remove the ring]
Glory: Who's the unlucky?
Josey Aimes: Me, I s'pose.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 12th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)

About a class action, but more than just a legal drama

It's a difficult thing to show something like workplace intimidation and sexual harassment on film; they are so reliant on context and informal discourse that it's very easy to overplay or overwrite them. North Country is ostensibly a movie about an individual who overcomes such oppressive harassment both personally and legally, yet there are many more layers than just this Erin Brokovich-type premise. That it works is down to sensitive script-writing and the talents of Charlize Theron, an actress whose career could well have descended into a succession of roles playing disrobing bimbos and vacuous love interests; instead she has demonstrated a preference and a talent for playing strong working-class women, whether good (Josie Aimes) or bad (Aileen Wuornos in Monster).

Theron's character is a single mother who has left her partner after a beating; she returns to her hometown and gets a job at the local taconite mine where her father has also worked all his life. The recent addition of women to the mine workforce is a source of animus for almost all males, including Josie's father, who sees her presence as an imposition and an insult. So too do the other male miners, who bombard the women with smutty comments, lewd graffiti, ill-conceived practical jokes and the odd uninvited fondle. Josie, being young, pretty and feisty, receives more attention than the others. Her reaction to her mistreatment unfolds along with the plot. When she seeks to unite her co-workers she is rebuffed because they fear losing their jobs; when she complains to her superficially sympathetic boss, she is told to close both her mouth and her legs. Alongside this, Josie also struggles to raise her children, to earn affection from her teenaged son, who has never known the identity of his father, and to win the respect of her disdainful parents.

North Country, which is inspired by true events, sets itself up for a courtroom finale - and indeed, there is one - however it is not strictly a legal docudrama. Woody Harrelson's lawyer is a more interesting character than most lawyers, while the revelations about Josie's life that unfold during the trial add depth to what might otherwise be a straight issue of legal culpability. The plight of Frances McDormand's character Glory, played with typical aplomb, and the epiphany of Josie's parents make this film much more human than it otherwise might have been. It is the strong cast and the thoughtful screenplay which lends this movie impact.