North Country

The movie North Country is a hard cold movie that faces the facts of reality in an honest and open way. Because it is based on true events and is previewed so in the beginning of the film, its message becomes stronger as you feel for the characters and their predicament. The main character, Josey, fights for her life in sexual harassment. As she hasn’t always had a good experience when it comes to men, she takes on an entire mine of them in fighting for all women of the mine and other cases similar to hers for what went down in history in creating sexual harassment policies in the work place. Even though the movie was frustrating and difficult for me to watch at times, I really liked it, and thought the message was extremely powerful, real.

The main actresses of the film, Charlize Theron, is not a well known actress, however her roles is powerful and outstanding. She does the perfect job at maintaining and creating her character that you become so emotional tied to her story and her life, you feel a sense of empathy and pain for her. Her facial expressions and body language all enhance her performance. One scene in particular is that when her father finally stands up for her in front of the men and the union meeting. She was so moved, and emotional happy that her dad finally stuck up for and as the viewer you can feel the strong sense of emotion and happiness as he gives his speech. Her body language tells everything she is feeling, which makes her character a believable one.

A lot of the scenes in the movie tend to use the same colors. It presents darker, cooler colors from the mine to the bare winter trees outside. You get a cold sense when viewing the film and a dirty, filthy, wet, and cold sense in the scenes with the mine. This enhances the film as you get a feel of what it is like to work in the mines, how it feels. It also enhances the film as you feel the cold and heartless character of the mine itself, and the workers. The light background music doesn’t necessarily enhance the film’s emotional sense but fills the silent parts to give them a little more depth.

The overall storyline is based on a true story, and therefore presents harsh, reality. The dialect and the way it was presented in the film is what made the film entertaining. The film uses flashbacks to tell the story, and what went on during Josey’s life, and how she got where she is. It begins with her on the stand being interrogated, and as the question is asked she has flashbacks in her mind to that time period. All of the flashbacks combine to create a flowing story of how she began her work in the mine, and what all went down while she worked there and how it affected the rest of her life as mom, daughter, woman, and member of the town. This adds suspense as you wonder why she is there and how she got there. As you find out and the story unfolds, it begins to fit together and make sense. The dialect and writing were suiting for the roles being played. The men of the mine said very inappropriate things to the women, and although I find it difficult to believe, I also feel it is reality and believable.

The storyline was an eye-opener, and as the ending concludes, it does not directly state whether she won the case or not. The last scene shows her in the truck teaching her son how to bond. Due to the events of her and her son’s life throughout the movie, the son found it very difficult to understand and respect is mother. With the help of a family friend and learning the truth the son along with Josey’s father begin to support Josey in the court case. The bonding of the two at the end is the last scene that leaves you off on a happy note. It is then typed after that scene explaining that Josey had won the court case and gives factual information of the events that cascaded after thanks to her.

The movies main theme was to convince the audience that Josey was right and that something needed to be done about the issue. The director wanted to showcase human nature during that time era when women weren’t treated fairly, and how it took the brave courage of one woman to prove to them all that she was not really what they deemed her as. It’s a film about courage, strength, hard times, reality, and perseverance. It showcases this main character through dialect, emotional draws, as well as supporting actors and symbolism. One supporting actor, Glory, acts as Josey’s friend from the moment she came to town. Glory is the one that convinced Josey to work in the mines, and as soon as Josey starts “creating trouble” Glory finds it hard to support her. Glory becomes extremely week and withers away at this point in the film. Glory’s medical condition symbolizes the women of the mine. They couldn’t stand up for themselves, or be treated with respect by the men. They just had to take the harassment and keep their mouths shut. Eventually they would wither away in their personalities for they had no voice. Just like Glory who becomes decrepit and voiceless in the end. An irony in the film included that of the head man at the mine hiring a woman lawyer in the court case to make the statement that he did not discriminate against women. It added to the plot and enhanced the miner’s characters as a general population.

This movie has a strong message to all of its viewers. The message of what it’s like to be treated so poorly all your life, and put up with things like sexual harassment and rape and not of the power to do anything about them. It takes pure human nature in some of its most evil ways and tries to prove to the audience that this type of behavior is not okay. It is also trying to educate the audience that things like this in our society do happen. They happen every day and we turn a blind eye to them because it is easier to do nothing about it. Josey had the courage and strength to stand up, unlike the other woman workers of the mine. She had a message and a lesson to teach them all and she succeeded. She is admired and supported in the end and gains the respect and courage that any human should have the right to possess. According to the book The Art of Watching Films this movie would be considered a social problem film, as it is clear and evident that sexual harassment was an issue in the work place and unjust. Any viewer of this film is bound to be moved, as it sends a strong message to society. It may be difficult to view, like the rape scene, but it reflects our own society still today in a harsh reality that is unforgettable.