North Country (2005)

Could have been stronger

After seeing North Country in the bargain bins at nearly every video store, I took the $4 plunge. I caught part of the 2005 film on television, and hey, Sean Bean is in it, so why not?


After leaving her abusive husband, Josey (Charlize Theron, Monster) takes a job at the Pearson Mines to support her two children, Sammy (Thomas Curtis) and Karen (Elle Peterson). Her father Hank (Richard Jenkins), also a miner, disapproves of Josey's job, as do most of the male miners. Union representative Glory (Frances McDormand, Fargo) tries to keeps the hazing of the new female minors to a minimum. Unfortunately, Glory can't keep her tough exterior while her health is failing. Her husband Kyle (Sean Bean)-previously injured at the mine-must care for Glory. Josey's Mom Alice (Sissy Spacek) offers support where she can, but after one too many incidents at the mine, Josey turns to ex hockey star turned lawyer Bill (Woody Harrelson) and takes the first class action sexual harassment lawsuit to court.

Clearly meant as a vehicle for Charlize Theron, the Oscar winner gives a fine performance here along with other such female Oscar heavy weights as Spacek and McDormand. The faults with North Country are not with the cast. In their brief scenes, Woody Harrelson and Sean Bean support the ladies very well, but it is as if they don't have enough to do. The leading women also don't seem to be as moving as they could be. The talent was definitely there for North Country, but director Niki Caro and writer Michael Seitzman seem to have missed the emotional mark.

Based upon the book by Clara Bingham, this true story about women fighting back against sexual harassment should be more moving then it turned out onscreen. After years of courtroom reruns on television, the legal scenes in North Country seem stilted and on the cheap. Woody Harrelson is capable of the courtroom charisma needed, as seen in The People vs Larry Flint, but it seems as if the history making legal precedence is set aside for chick flick moments.

The North Country DVD does have a brief deleted scene reel, and for once, these pieces should have been left in the film. Several key conversations between each main cast member were left on the cutting room floor. Some have dialogue, and some are just lengthy moments between the leads, but these scenes add some of the depth needed. At exactly two hours, North Country seems a bit short nowadays. All the pieces to the puzzle are there, but North Country doesn't quite deliver.

Men probably won't like this attempted gun-ho women's picture, but younger folks may not either, largely due to the eighties look of the film. North Country's setting is cold Minnesota, 1989-and the hair, costumes, and production look it. I must, however, say the ice hockey presented actually looks authentic-not an easy thing to find! Unfortunately, the DVD contains only the deleted scenes, the standard subtitles, and a brief behind the scenes with the real women of the class action lawsuit.


Instead of directing audiences to `stand up' for themselves and other against abuse by going to a website, here was another missed chance to get seriously exhaustive about the issue of filming what is still a touchy subject. How did Theron prepare? Was it rewarding or difficult for the real victims to see their tale onscreen? What does the real mining company have to say about all this? Sadly we just don't know.

Although North Country didn't quite hit the nail on the head, the film is just right for a certain audience niche. Women and victims of abuse will find the film worthy, and students learning about such lawsuits might help themselves with a viewing. No one here has a glamorous role, but fans of the cast will no doubt tune in as well. North Country brought to light a very important subject, but the next step was there for the taking.
December 16, 2008

North Country Review

This was a movie that completely took me off guard in so many ways. Based on a true story, it made it even more compelling.

The story of a young wife who was beaten, so took her 2 children and fled to start over at her parent's home. She had kept a secret for years that had cost her reputation in the town and with her own family.

She took a job for a mining company when women working in the field was very rare. She and the other women suffered horrendous working conditions, as they all fight hard to simply provide a better life for their families.

As the abuse at work becomes unbearable, she hires a burnt out lawyer to bring a class action suit against the company, something that had never been done before. Nearly the entire town turns against her.

When her father finally stands up for his daughter in the face of this onslaught of slander, lies & viciousness, I was crying. This situation turned to victory at the darkest hour. This is an amazing woman that I feel is a current unsung hero. November 29, 2008

One of those instances where a heavy hand would have been welcome...

It's true that `North Country' sports a weighty message; but it is also true, very true, that for the most part that heavy message manages to feel light. A lot of directors struggle with finding a balance between sentiment and saccharine; between weighty importance and muddy self-importance. Some directors have made a career out of defining this genre or brand of drama (take Ron Howard and Penny Marshall for instance) and yet still others have attempted and failed at the very same feat. In this regard, director Niki Caro succeeds; to an extent.

`North Country' never feels too thick.

The film tells the true story (or at least the parts they want to tell) of a young woman pushed the brink of her tolerance who is eventually forced to take action against those persecuting her. Josey Aimes has had a bad life. She got pregnant while still in high school, has pretty much been disowned by her father and has just left her abusive husband, toting her two young children back to mom and dads house. In an attempt to get her life in order she takes a job up at the mine, doing man's work, and quickly finds that the abuse she faces at the workplace is just as severe and almost more degrading than anything she faced with her ex-husband. As she struggles through each and every day of work she comes home to a family that shuns her, a son that hates her, a father that blames her for everything and a town that is growing tired of her complaints. She has no where to turn, but when things get too extreme on the workfront she decides to take the matter to the courts.

The true story that inspired this film is truly groundbreaking for it managed to pave the way for better work environments for women and men alike. This is a very important story to tell, and for the most part the story is told well.

My only issue with `North Country' is that at times it felt overly simple. It was just this feeling I got while watching the majority of the film; this feeling that there had to be more to this story. It kind of felt a little like a television movie, like a lifetime movie even. It was weighty yet felt airy in many scenes and that feeling tended to drag on for some time. The film picked up major pace as the inevitable conclusion came peering around the corner, and the courtroom scenes and flashbacks that fill in a few gaps are startling and heartbreaking, but they feel almost like too little too late. The film tries to serve up sentiment with the side story of Glory, Josey's friend, and her illness but it feels like just that, a side story.

The acting is generally very good and at times even great. A lot of people claim that Charlize Theron's Oscar nomination was ridiculous and undeserved, but I actually found her performance to be utterly unforgettable. My only wish is that she had held on to her accent throughout the entire film. There are some scenes (particularly with McDormand, who we know has perfected the accent from `Fargo') where her accent is spot on perfection, and if she had held it in every scene then her performance may even rival her Oscar winning `Monster' perf. The rest of the acting is good; Richard Jenkins, Sean Bean and Woody Harrelson serving up the best performances in the bunch. Jeremy Renner is convincing as the sleaze-ball town slacker and Sissy Spacek is touching as Josey's concerned mother. I have to say that I love Frances McDormand, but her performance is nothing special. She has an illness and the Academy obviously went crazy for that, but her nomination seemed kind of lazy to me, especially when you consider all of the actresses who delivered brilliant performances that same year (Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Scarlett Johansson). She is effective, but not award worthy.

In the end I have to say that `North Country' is a good film, but it could have been better. It is an important film, but the message would feel even more resonant if the delivery had been a little better. Definitely see this movie, but don't expect a film that is as groundbreaking as the real life story that inspired it. September 11, 2008

North Counrty

Oscar winner Chalize Theron stars in 'North Country'. -All she wanted to do was work and be able to earn a living at her job -- nothing doing!!! Wonderful movie in the way 'Silkwood' was a wonderful movie... Doing the Best they can: This type of GRIT and earned success doesn't come around everyday: Senator Hillary Clinton has it: In the 2008 Presidential Primary race, Hillary Clinton not only earned more votes than any of her rivals, she earned more votes than any other Presidential Primary candidate in the history of America (and earned 311 electoral votes, to her Party's presumptive nominee who earned 227 - 270 needed to win in November - On August 28,2008, the Party chooses it's nominee for President) August 20, 2008

North Country

I searched high and low at various outlet stores for this movie (I had borrowed it from a friend and while on a trip lost the DVD) and was not having any luck. A friend suggested I try AMAZON.com and I could not believe my luck, not only did I find it, but at a great price too. I had the DVD within a week of ordering. I will definitely turn to AMAZON for my future purchases. July 26, 2008

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