|
|
  
Back Shelf Beauties
|
North Country This will be the hardest review I write this year, because you can't make any jokes about this material. North Country is a powerful movie reminding us of the struggle women faced in the workplace for so many years, and driven by several possible Oscar-quality performances. Set in 1989 and 1990 and "inspired by" a true story, Charlize Theron stars as Josie - a working class mother of two sick and tired of her husband's physical abuse. She decides to leave the jerk, but needs to find a job to support her family and make her own way in the world. The best paying jobs are at the local coal mine, and, traditionally, held by men, but Josie's pal, Glory (Frances McDormand), has been working at the mine for several years and helps get Josie a job. As you can imagine (or else we wouldn't have a movie), the fellow female employees face constant harassment and physical danger, until Josie just isn't going to take it anymore. Can Josie sue the mine for sexual harassment and win? Will anyone stand by her side in this battle? North Country is one of those movies that has Oscar-bait written all over it, and it's worthy of the praise. Director Niki Caro keeps the focus on the story without getting carried away with filming the majestic landscape and the imposing mine rising up out of the ground (but it is still there for effect from time to time). She lets the actors blow us away without resorting to melodramatic tricks and easy sympathies, even toning down some of the most graphic scenes to let our imaginations fill in the blanks, which is always much more frightening and powerful. Shockingly, almost all of the acts committed against the women, including the mine's defense tactic, are taken directly from the real case, so Caro lets the actions speak for themselves with great effect. Best of all, she takes the time to show us the importance of the job to Josie, how the mine is a lifeline to the entire town, how the women try to cope with horrible behavior and Josie's interactions with her friends and family, so the court case and her individual struggle have more meaning for us. It's a tapestry that draws us in intellectually (how could anyone do this?) and emotionally (how could anyone put up with this?). Once Caro has us, Theron drives the story home. Theron's performance in North Country will undoubtedly be compared to her Oscar winning turn in Monster because she doesn't look like a supermodel in either movie, but the similarities stop there. If you look deeper than skin deep, Theron delivers a very subtle performance as a woman who has been tortured and mistreated her entire life, and we get to see how her character starts to withdraw from society and be less life like with every body blow she must absorb and overcome. She knows when to allow Josie to show fear and pain, which only helps the audience feel for a woman who has been labeled a nut (and worse). Theron is buoyed by an amazing supporting cast. McDormand couldn't ask for a meatier role. After getting our attention with a Fargo-like accent (which brings some giggles from the audience), she practically gets a role that meets every criteria on the Oscar Checklist. McDormand's character faces physical challenges, helps her friend, battles the guys with wit and intelligence, betrays her friend, and has to make a huge decision that impacts the entire movie. However, I think the best supporting performance comes from Jenks as the cold, uncaring, angry father. Somewhat of a villain, Jenks shows us Hank's years of anger towards his daughter, which he delivers without pulling back in any sense of the word. It's a daring role, where he can easily be hated, but Jenks makes it come to life, especially at the end, when Hank gets his big, powerful, memorable, blow-me-away moment. I only have two problems with North Country. First, it's set at the wrong time in American history. The case is "inspired by" an early 1980's case, Jenson v. Eveleth Mines (eventually filed in 1988, but started by Lois Jenson in 1984), but our movie is set in 1989 and 1990. It seems to be done so to make it appear as if Josie is inspired by Anita Hill to file the first class action sexual harassment case in history, but it is a stretch that isn't needed for any dramatic or artistic reasons to benefit the film. The men's actions are more believable in the early 1980's than in the late 1980's with or without news footage of those infamous Senate confirmation hearings. Second, some of the courtroom scenes are more Perry Mason or Judge Judy than realistic. The actual case took place over 10 years, which could have been an interesting angle on the story as Josie and her fellow workers are forced to endure 10 years of ups and downs in the judicial system. Also, Caro leans towards the melodramatic in these courtroom scenes. North Country is a wonderful film most of us will see in the Oscar prediction articles and year end top 10 lists. 3 ½ Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
|
