North Country (film)

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This article refers to the 2005 film. For other meanings, see North Country.
North Country

Original poster
Directed by Niki Caro
Produced by Nick Wechsler
Written by Michael Seitzman
Inspired by a book by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler
Starring Charlize Theron
Frances McDormand
Woody Harrelson
Richard Jenkins
Music by Gustavo Santaolalla
Cinematography Chris Menges
Editing by David Coulson
Distributed by Warner Bros.
Release date(s) October 21, 2005 Flag of the United States United States
February 3, 2006 Flag of the United Kingdom United Kingdom
Running time 126 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30,000,000
Gross revenue $23,624,242
Official website
IMDb profile

North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jensen and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company.

Contents

[edit] Plot synopsis

Josey Aimes, a single mother of two, leaves her abusive boyfriend and moves in with her parents Alice and Hank, who works in the local iron mine. Her old friend Glory, who works as a truck driver there, encourages her to apply for a job, much to Hank's consternation, but Josey sees the high pay as an opportunity to provide a home and a decent life for her children.

Working in a male-dominated field where the presence of women is resented, Josie and her female associates constantly find themselves subjected to sexual harassment and bullying. Her complaints to management go unheeded, and her co-workers, fearful of losing their jobs, refuse to support her efforts on their behalf. When Josie is physically attacked and no one comes to her defense, she quits.

Josie hires attorney Bill White, a one-time local ice hockey champion who has left his New York City practice and returned home to work through some personal problems, to represent her in a lawsuit against her employer for failing to protect not only her but the other females as well. She tries to plead her case at a labor union meeting, but is shouted down. Her previously unsupportive father steps up and points out the men never would mistreat their wives and daughters the way they have their female co-workers and questions why they feel it is right to do so.

Bill tries to file a class action lawsuit, but needs at least two other witnesses to do so. During the application for class action, Josey's sexual history is explored in detail. It is revealed her son was conceived when she was raped by a teacher, and when her high school sweetheart Bobby Sharp - one of her primary tormenters at the mine - acknowledges he witnessed the attack, Josey wins the support of not only most of her female co-workers, but many of the men as well.

[edit] Production notes

Lois Jenson, on whom the character of Josey is based, actually began working at the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota in 1975 and initiated her lawsuit in 1985, four years before the year in which the film begins. Its time line was condensed, but in reality it took fourteen years for the case to be settled. Jenson declined to sell the rights to her story or act as the film's consultant [1].

The film was shot in in the towns of Eveleth, Virginia, and Chisholm in northern Minnesota, Minneapolis, and Silver City and Santa Fe in New Mexico.

The soundtrack includes "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes, "Werewolves Of London" by Warren Zevon, "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me" by Mac Davis, "Wasn't That A Party" by The Irish Rovers, "Girl Of The North Country" by Leo Kottke, "I Drink Alone" by Jeremy Renner, "Shake The House Down" by Molly Hatchet, "If I Said You Had A Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)" by Bellamy Brothers, "Paths of Victory" by Cat Power, and "Tell Ol' Bill," "Do Right To Me Baby (Do Unto Others)," "Sweetheart Like You," and "Lay, Lady, Lay" by Bob Dylan.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival before going into theatrical release in the US, where it grossed $6,422,455 in its opening weekend, ranking 5th at the box office [2]. Budgeted at $30 million, it eventually grossed $18,324,242 in the US and $5,300,000 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $23,624,242 [3].

[edit] Principal cast

[edit] Critical reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 69% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 162 reviews [4]. On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 39 reviews [5].

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times called it "a star vehicle with heart - an old-fashioned liberal weepie about truth and justice" and added, "[It] is one of those Hollywood entertainments that strive to tell a hard, bitter story with as much uplift as possible. That the film works as well as it does, delivering a tough first hour only to disintegrate like a wet newspaper, testifies to the skill of the filmmakers as well as to the constraints brought on them by an industry that insists on slapping a pretty bow on even the foulest truth." [6]

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert observed, "North Country is one of those movies that stir you up and make you mad, because it dramatizes practices you've heard about but never really visualized. We remember that Frances McDormand played a woman police officer in this same area in Fargo, and we value that memory, because it provides a foundation for Josey Aimes. McDormand's role in this movie is different and much sadder, but brings the same pluck and common sense to the screen. Put these two women together (as actors and characters) and they can accomplish just about anything. Watching them do it is a great movie experience." [7]

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle called the film a "compelling if occasionally unnecessarily convoluted movie . . . The first 15 minutes or so are a mess . . . Fortunately, [it] calms down and becomes extremely engrossing, especially in the courtroom battles . . . it's all carefully calculated for dramatic effect and succeeds brilliantly in drawing you in and eliciting tears in the process . . . North Country would have benefited from crisper editing. It runs at least 15 minutes longer than necessary . . . For all its flaws, [it] delivers an emotional wallop and a couple of performances worthy of recognition come award time." [8]

In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers awarded the film two out of a possible four stars and commented, "Any similarities between Josey and Lois Jenson, the real woman who made Eveleth Mines pay for their sins in a landmark 1988 class-action suit, are purely coincidental. Instead, we get a TV-movie fantasy of female empowerment glazed with soap-opera theatrics. The actors, director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and the great cinematographer Chris Menges all labor to make things look authentic. But a crock is a crock, despite the ferocity and feeling Theron brings to the role . . . Though the dirt and grime in North Country are artfully applied, it's purely cosmetic and skin-deep." [9]

David Rooney of Variety said, "[It] indulges in movie-ish manipulation in its climactic courtroom scenes. But it remains an emotionally potent story told with great dignity, to which women especially will respond . . . The film represents a confident next step for lead Charlize Theron. Though the challenges of following a career-redefining Oscar role have stymied actresses, Theron segues from Monster to a performance in many ways more accomplished . . . The strength of both the performance and character anchor the film firmly in the tradition of other dramas about working-class women leading the fight over industrial workplace issues, such as Norma Rae or Silkwood." [10]

In the St. Petersburg Times, Steve Persall graded the film A and called it "deeply, undeniably moving . . . crusader cinema at its finest." [11]

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "A victim rises up," St. Petersburg Times, October 20, 2005
  2. ^ North Country at BoxOfficeMojo.com
  3. ^ North Country at TheNumbers.com
  4. ^ North Country at Rotten Tomatoes.com
  5. ^ North Country at Metacritic.com
  6. ^ New York Times review
  7. ^ Chicago Sun-Times review
  8. ^ San Francisco Chronicle review
  9. ^ Rolling Stone review
  10. ^ Variety review
  11. ^ St. Petersburg Times review

[edit] External links

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