North Country

Another “Inspired by True Story” Movie, Told by Hollywood

Plot:

When Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) returns to her hometown in Northern Minnesota after a failed marriage, she needs a good job. She turns to the predominant source of employment in the region – the iron mines. It’s an industry long dominated by men, in a place unaccustomed to change. Encouraged by her old friend Glory (Frances McDormand), one of the few female miners in town, Josey joins the ranks of those laboring to blast ore from rock in the gaping quarries.

The last thing the miners want is women competing for scarce jobs–women who, in their estimation, have no business driving trucks and hauling rock anyway. When Josey speaks out against the treatment she and her fellow workers face she is met with resistance–not only from those in power but from a community that doesn’t want to hear the truth. Through many struggles, Josey will find the courage to stand up for what she believes in–even if that means standing alone.

Release Date: October 21, 2005 (wide)
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Directed by: Niki Caro (The Vintner’s Luck, Whale Rider)
Starring: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Michelle Monaghan, Jeremy Renner
Budget: $30,000,000
Gross Revenue: $18,324,242 (US), $23,624,242 (worldwide)

Review:

Once again, we’re “forced” to see the Hollywood’s version of real life’s struggle. Fortunately, this time the result is quite good, put aside few over-dramatized scenes and anticlimax solution.

North Country focus on the story of Josey Aimes, a single mother with two children who has to received harassment and discrimination from her male co-workers, because she has a job in all-male working environment. When her pleas for the treatments that she and her other female miners received weren’t heard by the company and the community, Josey has to take a drastic measure, that is to bring the whole broken system to the court.

The first part of the movie, which describes the struggles that Josey had to face, both in the mine and the city, is absolutely brilliant. Charlize Theron once again gives her best performance as a woman who almost single-handedly face the corporate, the town’s people, her ex-husband, and even her own father. She manages to make us feel the scary sensation of having to make a big decision which can cost everything, including her relationship with her children.

The court part of the movie is where Hollywood gives to much of its touch. The plaintiff’s attorney, portrayed by Woody Harrelson, commits every procedural violation that could possibly be conceived. The arguments by both sides are often absurd. The solution is also quite not believable.

Well, it’s probably just Hollywood’s way to make the story more entertaining, as the true story itself probably boring (the actual case itself only settled after 14 years!). So, despite that this film brings good messages, you should only see North Country movie as pure entertainment, as you’d probably will see some holes in the plot, plus some “unreal” scenes here and there.

My Rating: B-

IMDb user rating: 7.2/10

Rotten Tomatoes meter: 69%

Metacritic: 68/100

Yahoo! critics: B

Yahoo! users: B

Your Ratings: (1 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)
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Note that ratings and gross revenue are based from when this review was written, so the values might already changed by now.