I have to confess I did not purposefully seek out to watch Charlize Theron’s Oscar winning performance in “Monster”. For a good portion of her career, my image of her was that of a classy leading lady with a penchant for straight forward roles which require her just to look pretty while looking pensive. Then came along “Monster” where she decided to jettison her classy façade for the more gritty and rugged character of Aileen Wuornos, the lesbian street hooker with an affinity for murder, which nabbed the 2004 Best Actress Oscar for her. And here we have “North Country” where she plays a blue collar divorcee who returns to her family’s home to start anew with her two kids. I will admit that the trailer for this film had a pro-feminist slant towards the film but I soon realized that it was true to a certain extent but at its core, “North Country” is really a dissection into the relationships between parents and their children.
There are two aspects of this film that really shine through. The first of which is the acting and “North Country” boasts some of Hollywood’s and Britain’s best character actors in show business from the likes of Charlize Theron (“The Italian Job” and “Aeon Flux”) to Frances McDormand (“Fargo” and “Almost Famous”) to Sean Bean (“Flightplan” and “Lord of the Rings”) to Woody Harrelson (“Natural Born Killers” and “The People VS. Larry Flint”) to Sissy Spacek (“Carrie” and “In the Bedroom”). Throw them all into a family/courtroom drama with the case that initiated the implementation of women’s rights in the workplace as a backdrop and you have the makings of a potentially great ensemble film.
Charlize has always been portrayed with an air of class in most of her roles but she seems to be gathering more accolades for her portrayal of unglamorous women in the recent years. Not only does she look the part of an abused single mom with two kids in tow but she manages to instill a sense of righteous determination in the rather hopeless situation of working in a male dominated arena. The character of Josey Aimes was inspired by Lois Jenson when she filed a class action lawsuit for sexual harassment against the corporate owners of Evenlth Mines. Josey may be fictional but Charlize brings to this role a touch of humanness. I concur that Josey is no Erin Brocovich but that is what make the character so intriguing. Here we have a working class mom, fending off the sexual degradation of the company of her male co-workers whilst re-establishing herself in her hometown where she holds some shady history. If I was not convinced that she deserved the Oscar for “Monster”, I am now.
A true mark of a great actor is the innate ability to bring to true life any character bestowed upon them no matter how simple the character may be. Frances as the plucky union women’s leader and Sean as her supportive husband are no exception to this as they bring to their otherwise would be straightforward roles multiple facets that gives the characters a casual uniqueness that allows them to carve a portion of the film for themselves. This is the same for Sissy Spacek and Richard Jenkins who play the parents of Josey. Although Ms. Spacek’s role is basically that of a dutiful wife who aims not to stir up any trouble in her home town begins to show, during the course of the film, a quiet resilience to the abuse that her daughter has to endure.
Director Niki Caro’s previous film was the hit coming-of-age drama “Whale Rider”. The concept behind “North Country” is that of defying one’s social limitations should be familiar ground for her to tackle as “Whale Rider” revolved around a young girl who has to challenge years of tradition to be the first female chief of her Maori tribe. This may be Ms. Caro’s first Hollywood outing, she still is able to apply her deft hand at balancing a wealth of issues and conflicts for the characters to engage in and yet still weave a cohesive story amongst all of them. She is able to allocate due attention and screen time to the different actors and actresses so that one never feels cheated of any interaction with them. What is even more remarkable is that she accomplished all of this is slightly over the two hour mark (just 6 minutes to be exact).
This was for me a very enjoyable movie experience as it speaks on a level that most can relate to. 
This is a film about the underdog and the injustice that befell a working class woman trying to make good on her promise to her children that she will do anything to take care of them. On top of that, you have a host of actors and actresses that are some of the best in the industry to bring these characters to life. The film engages you in the same way a good book entices you to read just that one page more before going to bed.
You just want to keep going.