अमेरिका के पहले बड़े सफल यौन उत्पीड़न के मामले को एक काल्पनिक तरीके से दर्शाया गया है, जहां एक महिला जिसने खननकर्ता के रूप में काम करते हुए अत्याचार सहन किया था और साथ ही साथ 1984 के लैंडमार... सभी पढ़ेंअमेरिका के पहले बड़े सफल यौन उत्पीड़न के मामले को एक काल्पनिक तरीके से दर्शाया गया है, जहां एक महिला जिसने खननकर्ता के रूप में काम करते हुए अत्याचार सहन किया था और साथ ही साथ 1984 के लैंडमार्क मुकदमे को जीता था.अमेरिका के पहले बड़े सफल यौन उत्पीड़न के मामले को एक काल्पनिक तरीके से दर्शाया गया है, जहां एक महिला जिसने खननकर्ता के रूप में काम करते हुए अत्याचार सहन किया था और साथ ही साथ 1984 के लैंडमार्क मुकदमे को जीता था.
- निर्देशक
- लेखक
- स्टार
- 2 ऑस्कर के लिए नामांकित
- 5 जीत और कुल 20 नामांकन
फ़ीचर्ड समीक्षाएं
North Country is inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson, which details the landmark case of Jenson V Eveleth Taconite Company that changed the sexual harassment law.
There is always a danger in film land that serious, based on facts topics get too much of a Hollywood sheen. So shall it be with Niki Caro's (Whale Rider) interpretation of this most important part of American law. The impact is there, very much so, but in the need to keep the audience on board, one feels they are being force fed drama when really none was needed. Having a beauty like Charlize Theron playing your lead hardly helps cast off the glossy feel of the production. "Rightly" nominated for Best Actress (she has gusto in abundance), Theron is however miscast as regards the nature of the piece, her aura and star bank-ability his hard to ignore during the more dramatic moments. As the New York Times review noted on its release, "it's a star vehicle with heart," and it's impossible to argue with that astute summary.
Still there is much to enjoy here. In amongst the annoying contrivances put our way to further the emotional aspects, there beats a serious and dramatic heart. Coupled with a more than competently handled court case finale, and aided by McDormand's highly effective performance, North Country makes its valid point in spite of its obvious problems. Though the film didn't make back its budget of $30 million, it got people talking about the topic at its core. Putting the revolting issue of sexual harassment back in the public conscious can never be a bad thing, so with that, North Country achieved its aims. If it's as impacting as its cousins, Norma Rae, Silkwood and Erin Brockovich is debatable, but it is potent and it is acted with aplomb from its principals. It's just regrettable that one can't quite shake off knowing it's all a bit too glossy for its own good. 7/10
Niki Caro does a fine job in directing. Her intentions are sincere. Perhaps the script could have been a little tighter and the courtroom sequences could have been better handled as they are a little too dramatic and unrealistic, especially the judge letting White to argue his case that way. In addition to that, the case became more about Josey's sex life rather than the actual harassment and terrorizing in the workplace. Even though this provides a twist in the story and explains a lot of Josie's situation, it takes away from the main theme. Also most of the male characters have been caricatured. I understand the film is about Josey which may be the reason why these characters weren't given much attention but even Josey's father is portrayed as a misogynist and all of a sudden he is shown to have a change of heart. It would have liked to see this characters inner conflict as he plays a crucial role in Josey's life.
In the technical front, the cinematography is smooth and gives us some spectacular glimpse of the snowy landscape and the coal mines. The sound effect and country-feel soundtrack are quite good too.
Charlize Theron deserves all the recognition she got for giving a strong, confidant and heartfelt performance as the brave hard-working and headstrong Josey Aimes. She breathes fire into her role and, along with Frances McDormand, she's the heart of the film. McDormand performs naturally and her tragic character provides some great comic relief. She has some witty one-liners that bring a smile. While most of the guys are portrayed as nasty sleazy men, Sean Bean's Kyle is the complete opposite. Nonetheless, the actor does a fine job (quite a deviation from what the type of roles he's more famous for). Harrelson's Bill White suffers from poor characterization. His character is a bit too sketchy. Harrelson tries the best with what he's got and turns in a decent enough performance. Richard Jenkins too suffers from poor writing. Sissy Spacek has a tiny role but she has a subtle dignified presence and her character contributes to one of the major turning points of the story. Rusty Schwimmer and Michelle Monaghan are adequate.
'North Country' isn't an easy film to watch because of the explicit scenes of sexual harassment and the haunting rape scene but it is a relevant film. Not only is it about women's rights, it's about everyone's right to live a life with dignity, to work with dignity. It's about standing up against injustice rather than turning a blind eye. It's about protecting your loved ones and fighting for what you believed in. Though 'North Country' isn't without its share of flaws (it is a little preachy and sometimes too dramatic), it brings forth some important themes well enough and with the support of good direction and strong performances, it's worth watching.
Charlize Theron is a good actress but seems visually too young for the character sometimes. Anyway, she managed to shine. Richard Jenkins has been OK but acts in a predictable way. Frances McDormand did very well, especially in the final half of the movie, where she really shows talent. Jeremy Renner manages to be truly despicable as the villain. Technically regular, it's a good movie and it deserves to be watched.
On the other hand, I feel disappointed, a little angry, as well as insulted as a woman that this hugely important story was made into a melodrama that flattens out what really happened, and somehow manages to diminish the political nature of sexual harassment, even while seeming to highlight it.
At least 90 percent of the problem had to do with Michael Seitzman's script.
In the interview with Seitzman on the DVD, he makes clear that he didn't think the sexual harassment story was the real story. The real story, he said, was the traumatic experience Josie had in high school, and her relationship with her son.
Therefore he should have written a script for Lifetime focusing on what he felt was the "real story". He should not have used one of the most important cases for sexual harassment in legal history as the vehicle for telling this other story.
The producers should have demanded a script that more closely resembled Susannah Grant's Erin Brockovich. The sequence of victimization after victimization depicted in North Country didn't let us get to know Josie's character in any depth. We saw her slammed against the wall again and again, from beginning to end. We see that she stands up against the oppression, but we aren't taken into her sensibility, her choices, her process, her blind spots, character change, etc, etc, like in EB. Likewise, the lack of complexity in the male "macho" characters also flattens the story, and takes away from the real difficulties in challenging sexism and sexual harassment. In real life, character complexity of those who oppress or who defend oppressors is part of what makes the problem of sexual harassment difficult to fight.
I read an interview with Niki Caro, and though I think she's a very talented director, I got the sense that she didn't really get the politics or history behind sexual harassment. It seems things aren't as bad in New Zealand as they are here in the U.S. This is a foreign culture to her, and Northern Minnesota is certainly a foreign culture. I wish she would have spent more time fully understanding the issues and cultural dynamics (including the accent and mannerisms of the area, etc, which were sprinkled into the movie, but not rigorously replicated) before undertaking the project. If she had gone the extra mile to immerse herself in the issue and the region, perhaps she would have demanded a total rewrite of the script.
क्या आपको पता है
- ट्रिवियाJosey Aimes is based on Lois Jenson, who started working in the mines in 1975 and endured thirteen years of harassment before filing her first lawsuit. Jenson v. Eveleth Mines was settled in 1998, ten years after it was first filed, and over twenty years after the harassment began.
- गूफ़The movie is set in 1988-89, yet it frequently shows the Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill hearings, which occurred in 1991.
- भाव
Hank Aimes: My name is Hank Aimes and I've been a miner all my life. And I've never been ashamed of it until now. You know when we take our wives and daughters to the company barbecue, I don't hear any of them calling them those names like bitches and whores and worse. I don't see anyone grab them by their privates or drawing pictures of them on the bathroom walls, it's unspeakable. Unspeakable! So what's changed? She's still my daughter! It's a heck of a thing, to watch one of your own get treated that way. You're all supposed to be my friends, my brothers. Well, right now I don't have a friend in this room. In fact the only one I'm not ashamed of is my daughter.
- क्रेज़ी क्रेडिटThe Warner Bros. logo plays but with no music.
- कनेक्शनFeatured in HBO First Look: North Country (2005)
- साउंडट्रैकAntone's Polka
Written by Matt Vorderbruggen
Performed by The Matt Vorderbruggen Band
टॉप पसंद
- How long is North Country?Alexa द्वारा संचालित
विवरण
- रिलीज़ की तारीख़
- कंट्री ऑफ़ ओरिजिन
- आधिकारिक साइटें
- भाषा
- इस रूप में भी जाना जाता है
- Tierra fría
- फ़िल्माने की जगहें
- उत्पादन कंपनियां
- IMDbPro पर और कंपनी क्रेडिट देखें
बॉक्स ऑफ़िस
- बजट
- $3,50,00,000(अनुमानित)
- US और कनाडा में सकल
- $1,83,37,722
- US और कनाडा में पहले सप्ताह में कुल कमाई
- $64,22,455
- 23 अक्टू॰ 2005
- दुनिया भर में सकल
- $2,52,11,175
- चलने की अवधि2 घंटे 6 मिनट
- ध्वनि मिश्रण
- पक्ष अनुपात
- 2.35 : 1