BRINGING THE PAIN, IRON RANGE STYLE

By: B -- 11/6/05

The trailer for North Country pretty much tells the entire story: down-and-out single mother faces harsh sexual harassment at the mines of Minnesota, and with the help of a hometown lawyer ends up taking down the entire establishment, forever improving future sexual harassment policies around the globe. Mystery genre North Country is not.

What North Country is, is your standard Hollywood Biopic, the David vs. Goliath story of a single mother going against all odds, overcoming life-threatening adversity, yada yada yada.

Keeping the all-too-predictable plot in mind, North Country is actually a better than decent film with an important story full of solid performances. It’s the journey, not the destination. Even better: it will make most viewers forget all about Erin Brockovich.

Richard Jenkins turned in the film’s best performance, playing father Hank Aimes. Hank was broken down but irritable, a man who was constantly trying to temper his turbulent emotions as the father of a daughter who has constantly disappointed him. Charlize Theron was also solid as Josey Aimes; her performance was conventionally forceful and emotional. Theron’s Minnesota accent sounded a bit unnatural, but her hilarious faux-mullet more than made up for it.

Like most “inspired by a true story” films, I left the cinema wondering what parts were true and what were inspiration. According to my research, the characters were almost entirely fabricated. Lawyer Bill White (Woody Harrelson) wasn’t a hometown hockey hero; he was an experienced discrimination lawyer with no local ties. Even Josey Adams, the feisty protagonist, was a composite of numerous real-life women.

However, what really matters is that the story is mostly intact. It’s about as tragic and uncomfortable as films can get, but undeniably powerful. And for all the formulaic limitations, and occasional melodramatic scenes, the inspirational story makes North Country a worthy biopic.

POP RATING: 6

CRITICAL RATING: 8

B’S RATING: 7.5

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