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"North Country" is definitely worth watching. The movie starts Charlize Theron as Josie Ames, a single mother of two small kids who comes home to her parents after her boyfriend has beat her up one time too many. However, when she comes back into town, she is treated like she has been forced to wear the scarlet letter. She is looked upon by the other wives as a bad example, and as someone who has gone from man to man with abandon. Even her father wants nothing to do with her and sees her as inviting the trouble that comes upon her. She works for a local hair dresser for very little money. But then one day, she meets up with old acquaintance Glory (Frances McDormand) who invites her to work in the mines where she can make much more money. Women are being hired in bigger numbers now, and this aggravates the longtime workers who are all men. They feel threatened by this as they become afraid of losing their jobs to these women, so they react by humiliating and demeaning the women in ways that are just nasty. One man ejaculates on a woman's nice shirt and leaves the remains on it, dirty insults and remarks are written on the walls and wherever else is most visible, and the women's locker room is defaced with sexist remarks written with the aid of feces. What makes this movie so good is that everything about feels authentic. Director Niki Caro shot the movie out in Minnesota, and it does not look like it was filmed on any recognizable movie set. The cars, the town, the costumes all add to the realism of the story. It may not look like it, but Niki obviously worked a lot on the details of the locations to the point where we don't think too much about it. We accept it as it is. The town essentially is a major character in this movie. Then there are the performances themselves, and there is not a weak one in this movie. There should be no doubt at this point that Charlize Theron is a fantastic actress on top of being such a beautiful woman. She makes you forget how beautiful she is, and she is more than believable here as a single mother of two. One of the very best performances in the movie comes from Richard Jenkins, and he plays Josie's father. Jenkins is a journeyman character actor who has been in just about every other movie made, and he currently co-stars in Peter Berg's "The Kingdom." He starts off as a spiteful character who is ashamed of her daughter and the "shame" she has brought on his family. Although his shift to loving father is somewhat awkward, his big scene is when he stands up for his daughter as she is degraded and insulted mercilessly at a union meeting, and he sees his place as an employee as what really is. In a room that refuses to accept change, he finds that he has to for his daughter and for the sake of his own sanity. "North Country" is an important movie as it documents a pivotal moment in sexual harassment laws and protection. There are many movies out there that try to force a message down your throat, and they manipulate you with unrealistic dilemmas. This is not one of those movies. email this review to a friend
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