Relevant ‘Country’ provokes, empowers
North Country, the latest film from Whale Rider director Niki Caro captures the issue of women in the workplace with subtle force and power. The film is refreshingly focused and thought-provoking.
The story centers on Josey Aimes (Monster’s Charlize Theron), a mother of two who tries to escape an abusive relationship and an inability to support her family by accepting a job with the local mining company in 1989. While the mine has been federally required to hire female employees since 1975, the women who work there are constantly harassed by their male counterparts, and the women are expected to “work hard, keep [their] mouths shut, and take it like a man.” The film unflinchingly chronicles the abuse these women endure.
This abuse ranges from having lewd pictures drawn all over the mining site to being locked in a Porta-Potty that is subsequently knocked over. The harassment spills into their home lives as well — they are called whores in public and their children are considered outcasts. And if the women complain to their bosses, they only garner more mistreatment.
When Josey is attacked by one of the men at the mine, she decides to take legal action. At the behest of her lawyer, Bill White (Play it to the Bone’s Woody Harrelson), she attempts to file an unprecedented class-action suit against the mine. Josey looks to her female co-workers for support in her quest for justice, but they think the abuse is part of the job and refuse to substantiate her claims of harassment. The film then evolves into a mission to get corroborative evidence of the mistreatment and to prove Josey is neither a nut nor a slut.
North Country addresses not only the struggle for the equal treatment of women in male-dominated jobs, but also the turbulent relationships between parents and children. From the beginning of the film, Josey’s father, Hank (Flirting with Disaster’s Richard Jenkins), is disappointed in his daughter’s life and even blames her for provoking her husband’s abuse. When Josey informs him of her desire to earn more money by working at the mine — the same one that employs him — his disappointment turns to anger and he refuses to speak to her or her children. Josey’s mother, Alice (In the Bedroom’s Sissy Spacek, in an understated but pivotal performance), makes him see the fallacy of his actions, and he finally stands up for his daughter.
Director Caro effectively focuses the film’s action on Josey’s perseverance despite a complete lack of support and sympathy from the townspeople and even overcomes the impulse to give her leading lady a romantic interest. Keeping Josey from indulging in non-familial and non-platonic relationships enhances her credibility and makes North Country a true female empowerment movie.
Although a single-woman-versus-large-corporation film seemingly comes out every couple of years, this one is still worth watching. North Country makes viewers laugh, cry, and most of all, think.
Other arts & entertainment stories
News
- Four Envision grants awarded
- New campus-wide coordinators plan for smoother, safer Beer-Bike
- Plan for central quad begins with cafe pavilion
- Soccer wins two games, seeks conference crown
- Student justice: how conduct violations are adjudicated
Sports
- A call to all crazy fans, tailgaters, students
- Duo of DiSesa, Rodgers advance to semifinals in College Station
- Martel beats Wiess, makes playoffs
- Owls fall short at ITA South Central Regionals
- Rice loses to Midshipmen in battle of option offenses
- Swim team dominates home opener
- UTEP brings high-powered offense to Rice
- Volleyball looks to end losing streak