North Country

The combination of righteous indignation and feminist empowerment that inspired Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich also fuels this first big Hollywood effort from Kiwi director Niki Caro (Whale Rider), set in the snowy climes of northern Minnesota, where abused wife Josey Aimes (Oscar-nominee Charlize Theron) flees to her parents' house with her two kids. Though Mom and Dad (Sissy Spacek and Richard Jenkins) mirror the rest of their very conservative town—seeing their daughter as a loose woman who should work things out with her husband—Josey is determined to make a new life for herself, and is urged by a straight-talking pal (Oscar-nominee Frances McDormand) into joining the tiny female workforce at the local taconite mine. But the atmosphere there proves poisonous, with the brutish male workers humiliating the women at every opportunity while the bosses turn a blind eye, until Josey and her attorney (Woody Harrelson) ultimately bring a David-vs.-Goliath lawsuit against the firm. Though loosely based on an actual case, this is a frustratingly conventional film—from sudsy drama opening to rah-rah, crowd-pleasing finale—in which everything is drawn with a very heavy brush. Despite its good intentions and some strong acting (especially from Theron and Jenkins), North Country remains an optional purchase. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include the 16-minute “making-of” featurette “Stories from the North Country,” 11 minutes of additional scenes, and trailers. Bottom line: a small extras package for a well-acted but very conventional drama.] (F. Swietek)