Girl of the "North Country"

"North Country" is yet another film that chronicles a significant real life legal battle in which the underdog goes up against the system. It's a nice little combination of "Norma Rae" mixed with a pinch of "Erin Brockovich," "A Civil Action" and pretty much any other movie dealing with women fighting to have the same rights as men. \nWhile the story might seem formulaic to some, overall it is still a very good film.\n"Country" tells the story of Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron), a woman who decides to leave her abusive husband and take her children back to her hometown to start a new life in a small Northern Minnesota mining community.\nAfter running into her old friend Glory (Frances McDormand), who tells her there are openings for female workers up at the steel mine, Aimes quits her remedial hair styling job, grabs some work clothes and heads for the hills.\nWhile she gets the job, working with a small group of other female miners, it is clear from the beginning that she is not welcomed by her male counterparts, including her own father, played wonderfully by Richard Jenkins ("Six Feet Under"). It's not long before she is victim to nasty pranks, perverse verbal abuse and eventually attempted rape. While her fellow female workers tell her this is natural and she has to earn her keep, she becomes fed up with the system and seeks legal aid.\n"North Country" is based on the true story of the first class action sexual harassment case in American history. Aimes and the other women are underdogs working in a male dominated work place, yet shouldn't they have the same rights as everyone else? Shouldn't they be able to go to work without fear of humiliation or harm? These moral questions run rapid throughout this film.\nThe director, Niki Caro (the wonderfully dazzling "Whale Rider"), handles the subject matter well and gets a lot out of her ensemble cast, proving that she has a promising career ahead of her. \nThe acting in the film is excellent, however, is not quite Oscar material, even though both Theron and McDormand received acting nods this year. Theron is effective as Aimes and McDormand is good enough but essentially revisits the role and accent that earned her an Oscar in "Fargo."\nThe film's DVD includes an interesting featurette about the real case the film was based on with fascinating interviews/accounts from the original female miners. There are also a handful of mediocre deleted scenes and the film's trailer.\nOverall, "North Country" is an enjoyable, feel good legal drama that carries the slogan, 'Based on true events' nicely. However, once you've seen it, revisiting it down the road probably won't be necessary, unless you enjoy seeing Theron getting down and dirty.