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North Country (film)

North Country (film)

Overview
North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro
Niki Caro
Niki Caro is film director, producer and screenwriter who was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals....

. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.
Lois E. Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. was the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States, filed in 1988 on behalf of Lois Jenson and other female workers at the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota on the state's northern Mesabi Range, which is part of the Iron...

.
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Encyclopedia
North Country is a 2005 American drama film directed by Niki Caro
Niki Caro
Niki Caro is film director, producer and screenwriter who was born in Wellington, New Zealand. Her 2002 film Whale Rider was critically praised and won a number of awards at international film festivals....

. The screenplay by Michael Seitzman was inspired by the 2002 book Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler, which chronicled the case of Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Company
Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co.
Lois E. Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co. was the first class-action sexual harassment lawsuit in the United States, filed in 1988 on behalf of Lois Jenson and other female workers at the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota on the state's northern Mesabi Range, which is part of the Iron...

.

Plot


In 1989, Josey, played by Charlize Theron, returns to her hometown in Northern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

 with her children, Sam (Thomas Curtis
Thomas Curtis (actor)
Thomas Wayne Curtis is an American actor. Curtis has starred in The Cactus Kid, Sweet Home Alabama, Red Dragon and The Chumscrubber. He also act in Hansel & Gretel and North Country - along with Oscar winner: Charlize Theron...

) and Karen (Elle Peterson), after escaping from her abusive husband. She moves in with her parents, Alice (Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek
Sissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...

) and Hank (Richard Jenkins
Richard Jenkins
Richard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...

). Hank is ashamed of Josey, who became pregnant at the age of 16, and believes that this was the result of Josey being promiscuous. The townspeople believe the same, which causes them not to allow Josey to blend in. Her only friends are Kyle Dodge (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...

) and his wife Glory (Frances McDormand
Frances McDormand
Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...

), who works at the local iron mines (the town's main source of income) and they promise to get Josey a job there. They also allow Josey to stay at their place with her children, due to Josey's bad relationship with her father.

Josey quickly befriends the other female workers at the mine, which include Glory, Sherry (Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Monaghan
Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...

) and Big Betty (Rusty Schwimmer
Rusty Schwimmer
Rusty Schwimmer is an American film and television actress and singer. Her most prominent role so far is that of Barbara Ludzinski on The Guardian.Among her movie appearances are those as Joey B in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Mrs...

), and becomes the target of provocations spearheaded by Bobby Sharp (Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Renner
Jeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...

), Josey's high school boyfriend who also works at the mine. Her attempts to stop the provocations by reporting it to the mine's higher-up only worsen it, and soon all the women are being verbally and physically abused by men at the factory. Josey is also sexually harassed by many of them, including Bobby.

Josey's refusal in giving in on her male co-workers' demands causes them to spread lies about her being promiscuous and trying to seduce them, which cause Josey to be further segregated not only by her father and the men's wives, but also by Sam, who starts believing that his mother is indeed promiscuous after discovering that he was the result of her teenage pregnancy. After even the mine's board of directors refuses to hear Josey's complaints about the way women are treated at the mine, she quits and asks Bill White (Woody Harrelson
Woody Harrelson
Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...

), a friend of Kyle and Glory and also a lawyer – to help her file a lawsuit against the company. Bill tells her that the best way to win a case like this is by convincing the other women to back up her statements in court. The women, however, are hesitant, as this would mean risking their jobs, and refuse. Josey also discovers that Glory has ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or Lou Gehrig's Disease.

Hank is disappointed by Josey's decision, and Alice leaves him, tired of hearing him criticizing their daughter for something that was not her fault. Hank later attends a union meeting. Josey appears, hoping to address the miners and explain her reasons for suing the mine. When they refuse to hear her and start verbally abusing her, Hank stands up for his daughter and reprimands his co-workers for their rude treatment of Josey and all the women at the factory.

At the court, the mine's lawyers attempt to hold Josey's so-called "promiscuous" past against her, and have Bobby Sharp testify on how Sam is the fruit of a consensual sexual relationship between Josey and one of her teachers. Josey then reveals the truth: When she and Bobby were 16, they were caught skipping class and kissing by their teacher and were forced to stay after class as punishment. When detention ended, Bobby left first to start up his car, intending to give Josey a ride. While he was away, Josey was attacked and raped by her teacher. Bobby witnessed the rape and not knowing what to do he left the school quickly. Josey got pregnant from the rape, but refused to abort the baby or give it away, and had Sam. Josey's lawyer Bill gets Bobby to admit he is lying about the sex being consensual.

Glory has come to the court in her wheel chair and from the back of the room her husband reads a letter saying she stands with Josey. Other women then stand up to support Josey's complaint. They are followed by more women, family members, and miners. With this, the mining company loses the case and is forced to pay the women for what they suffered, in addition to establishing a sexual harassment policy at the workplace. Josey, vindicated, thanks Bill for all that he has done for her and her family and departs to teach Sam how to drive, telling him that she intends to buy him a car on his 18th birthday.

Production notes


Lois Jenson, on whom the character of Josey is based, actually began working at the EVTAC mine in Eveleth, Minnesota
Eveleth, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,865 people, 1,717 households, and 971 families residing in the city. The population density was 611.0 people per square mile . There were 1,965 housing units at an average density of 310.6 per square mile...

 in 1975 and initiated her lawsuit in 1984, four years before the year in which the film begins. Its time line was condensed, but in reality it took fourteen years for the case to be settled. Jenson declined to sell the rights to her story or act as the film's consultant.

The film was shot in the towns of Eveleth, Virginia
Virginia, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,157 people, 4,333 households, and 2,270 families residing in the city. The population density was 486.1 people per square mile . There were 4,692 housing units at an average density of 249.1 per square mile...

, and Chisholm
Chisholm, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,960 people, 2,178 households, and 1,287 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,129 people per square mile . There were 2,375 housing units at an average density of 540/sq mi...

 in northern Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

; Minneapolis; and Silver City
Silver City, New Mexico
Silver City is a town in Grant County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 10,545. It is the county seat of Grant County. The city is the home of Western New Mexico University.-History:...

 and Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

 in New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

.

The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was shown at the Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....

 before going into theatrical release in the US, where it grossed $6,422,455 in its opening weekend, ranking 5th at the box office. Budgeted at $30 million, it eventually grossed $18,324,242 in the US and $5,300,000 in foreign markets for a total worldwide box office of $23,624,242.

Soundtrack

  1. "North Country" by Gustavo Santaolalla
    Gustavo Santaolalla
    Gustavo Alfredo Santaolalla is an Argentine musician, film composer and producer. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Original Score in two consecutive years, for Brokeback Mountain in 2005 and Babel in 2006.-Life and career:...

     – 2:08
  2. "Girl of the North Country
    Girl from the North Country
    "Girl from the North Country" is a song written by Bob Dylan. It was first released in 1963 as the second track on Dylan's second studio album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. Dylan re-recorded the song as a duet with Johnny Cash in 1969. That recording became the first track on Nashville Skyline,...

    " by Leo Kottke
    Leo Kottke
    Leo Kottke is an acoustic guitarist. He is widely known for his innovative fingerpicking style, which draws on influences from blues, jazz, and folk music, and his syncopated, polyphonic melodies...

     – 3:33
  3. "Tell Ol' Bill" by Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

     – 5:08
  4. "Werewolves of London
    Werewolves of London
    "Werewolves of London" is a rock song composed by LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon and performed by Zevon. Included on Zevon's 1978 album Excitable Boy, it featured accompaniment by bassist John McVie and drummer Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac.The single was released by Asylum as...

    " by Warren Zevon
    Warren Zevon
    Warren William Zevon was an American rock singer-songwriter and musician noted for including his sometimes sardonic opinions of life in his musical lyrics, composing songs that were sometimes humorous and often had political or historical themes.Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known...

     – 3:28
  5. "Bette Davis Eyes
    Bette Davis Eyes
    "Bette Davis Eyes" is a song written in 1974 by Donna Weiss and Jackie DeShannon and made popular by American singer-songwriter Kim Carnes.-History:...

    " by Kim Carnes
    Kim Carnes
    Kim Carnes is an American singer-songwriter. She is a two-time Grammy Award winner noted for her distinctive raspy vocal style. Some people have called her "The Female Rod Stewart" due to her raspy voice....

     – 3:49
  6. "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body (Would You Hold It Against Me)" by The Bellamy Brothers – 3:17
  7. "Lay Lady Lay
    Lay Lady Lay
    "Lay Lady Lay" is a song written by Bob Dylan and originally released in 1969 on his Nashville Skyline album. Like many of the tracks on the album, Dylan sings the song in a low croon, rather than in the high nasal singing style associated with his earlier recordings...

    " by Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

     – 3:19
  8. "A Saturday in My Classroom" by Gustavo Santaolalla – 3:46
  9. "Sweetheart Like You" by Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

     – 4:37
  10. "Baby Don't Get Hooked on Me" by Mac Davis
    Mac Davis
    Mac Davis is a country music singer, songwriter, and actor originally from Lubbock, Texas who has enjoyed much crossover success...

     – 3:05
  11. "Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)" by Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan
    Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...

     – 3:52
  12. "Standing Up" by Gustavo Santaolalla – 2:43
  13. "Paths of Victory" by Cat Power
    Cat Power
    Charlyn Marie Marshall , also known as Chan Marshall or by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer/songwriter and occasional actress and model. Cat Power was originally the name of Marshall's first band, but has come to refer to her musical projects with various backing bands...

     – 3:24


Songs in the movie that weren't in the soundtrack release include "Wasn't That a Party" by The Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers
The Irish Rovers is a Canadian Irish folk group created in 1963 and named after the traditional song "The Irish Rover". The group is best known for their international television series, and renditions of traditional Irish drinking songs, as well as early hits, Shel Silverstein's "The Unicorn",...

, "Shake the House Down" by Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet is an American southern rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1975. They are widely known for their hit song "Flirtin' with Disaster" from the album of the same title. The band, founded by Dave Hlubek and Steve Holland, took its name from a prostitute who allegedly mutilated...

 and karaoke versions of George Thorogood's "I Drink Alone" and Pat Benatar's "Hit Me With Your Best Shot
Hit Me with Your Best Shot
"Hit Me with Your Best Shot" is a song written by Canadian singer/songwriter Eddie Schwartz and recorded by American singer Pat Benatar in 1979. It was released as the second single from her second album Crimes of Passion, and reached #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first top 10 hit...

."

Principal cast

  • Charlize Theron
    Charlize Theron
    Charlize Theron is a South African actress, film producer and former fashion model.She rose to fame in the late 1990s following her roles in 2 Days in the Valley, Mighty Joe Young, The Devil's Advocate and The Cider House Rules...

     as Josey Aimes
  • Frances McDormand
    Frances McDormand
    Frances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...

     as Glory Dodge
  • Woody Harrelson
    Woody Harrelson
    Woodrow Tracy "Woody" Harrelson is an American actor.Harrelson's breakthrough role came in the television sitcom Cheers as bartender Woody Boyd...

     as Bill White
  • Sissy Spacek
    Sissy Spacek
    Sissy Spacek is an American actress and singer. She came to international prominence for her for role as Carrie White in Brian De Palma's 1976 horror film Carrie for which she earned her first Academy Award nomination...

     as Alice Aimes
  • Richard Jenkins
    Richard Jenkins
    Richard Dale Jenkins is an American stage, film, and television actor. After beginning his career in theatre, Jenkins made his film debut in 1974, and appeared in supporting roles in numerous film productions in the 1980s and the 1990s. His breakthrough came in the 2000s for playing the deceased...

     as Hank Aimes
  • Jeremy Renner
    Jeremy Renner
    Jeremy Lee Renner is a two-time Academy-Award-nominated American actor and musician. Renner appeared in films throughout the 2000s, mostly in supporting roles. He came to prominence in films such as Dahmer , S.W.A.T. , Neo Ned , 28 Weeks Later and The Hurt Locker...

     as Bobby Sharp
  • Sean Bean
    Sean Bean
    Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...

     as Kyle Dodge
  • Thomas Curtis
    Thomas Curtis (actor)
    Thomas Wayne Curtis is an American actor. Curtis has starred in The Cactus Kid, Sweet Home Alabama, Red Dragon and The Chumscrubber. He also act in Hansel & Gretel and North Country - along with Oscar winner: Charlize Theron...

     as Sammy Aimes
  • Michelle Monaghan
    Michelle Monaghan
    Michelle Lynn Monaghan is an American actress known for her roles in Mission: Impossible III, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Gone Baby Gone, Made of Honor, The Heartbreak Kid, Eagle Eye, and Source Code.-Early life:...

     as Sherry
  • Rusty Schwimmer
    Rusty Schwimmer
    Rusty Schwimmer is an American film and television actress and singer. Her most prominent role so far is that of Barbara Ludzinski on The Guardian.Among her movie appearances are those as Joey B in Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday, Mrs...

     as Big Betty
  • Jillian Armenante
    Jillian Armenante
    Jillian Armenante is an American television and film actress, known for playing the role of Donna Kozlowski on the TV show Judging Amy.-Life and career:Armenante was born in Paterson, New Jersey but grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey....

     as Peg
  • Linda Emond
    Linda Emond
    Linda Emond is an American stage, film and television actress.-Training and career:Emond graduated with an MFA from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington in Seattle...

     as Leslie Conlin
  • John Aylward
    John Aylward
    John Aylward is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for playing the former DNC chairman Barry Goodwin on the NBC television series The West Wing and for playing Dr. Donald Anspaugh on the NBC television series ER. He also supplied his voice for Dr. Arne Magnusson in Half-Life 2: Episode...

     as Judge Halsted
  • Amber Heard
    Amber Heard
    Amber Laura Heard is an American actress and model. She played the lead and title character in All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006. Heard's first starring role came in 2007 on the CW television show Hidden Palms...

     as Young Josey Aimes
  • Cole Williams
    Cole Williams
    Cole Williams is an American film and TV actor. He has been in such diverse films as North Country, and Harry + Max . He also had a recurring role as Anthony W...

     as Young Bobby
  • Jacqueline Wright
    Jacqueline Wright
    Jacqueline Wright is an English director of film, TV and music promos.Wright’s short films include David the Great, a comedic homage to magician David Blaine; Out of Water, which was funded by the UK Film Council; and Stiffy, a comedy with a necrophiliac theme which premiered at the Cannes Film...

     as Bobby's Wife

Critical reception


On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...

, 69% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 162 reviews. On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...

, the film has an average score of 68 out of 100, based on 39 reviews.

Manohla Dargis of the New York Times called it "a star vehicle with heart – an old-fashioned liberal weepie about truth and justice" and added, "[It] is one of those Hollywood entertainments that strive to tell a hard, bitter story with as much uplift as possible. That the film works as well as it does, delivering a tough first hour only to disintegrate like a wet newspaper, testifies to the skill of the filmmakers as well as to the constraints brought on them by an industry that insists on slapping a pretty bow on even the foulest truth."

In his review in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...

, Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...

 observed, "North Country is one of those movies that stir you up and make you mad, because it dramatizes practices you've heard about but never really visualized. We remember that Frances McDormand played a woman police officer in this same area in Fargo
Fargo (film)
Fargo is a 1996 American dark comedy-crime film produced, directed and written by brothers Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Frances McDormand as a pregnant police chief who investigates a series of homicides, William H...

, and we value that memory, because it provides a foundation for Josey Aimes. McDormand's role in this movie is different and much sadder, but brings the same pluck and common sense to the screen. Put these two women together (as actors and characters) and they can accomplish just about anything. Watching them do it is a great movie experience."

Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...

called the film a "compelling if occasionally unnecessarily convoluted movie . . . The first 15 minutes or so are a mess . . . Fortunately, [it] calms down and becomes extremely engrossing, especially in the courtroom battles . . . it's all carefully calculated for dramatic effect and succeeds brilliantly in drawing you in and eliciting tears in the process . . . North Country would have benefited from crisper editing. It runs at least 15 minutes longer than necessary . . . For all its flaws, [it] delivers an emotional wallop and a couple of performances worthy of recognition come award time."

In Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

, Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Peter Travers is an American film critic, who has written for, in turn, People and Rolling Stone. Travers also hosts a celebrity interview show called Popcorn on ABC News Now and ABCNews.com.-Career:...

 awarded the film two out of a possible four stars and commented, "Any similarities between Josey and Lois Jenson, the real woman who made Eveleth Mines pay for their sins in a landmark 1988 class-action suit, are purely coincidental. Instead, we get a TV-movie fantasy of female empowerment glazed with soap-opera theatrics. The actors, director Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and the great cinematographer Chris Menges all labor to make things look authentic. But a crock is a crock, despite the ferocity and feeling Theron brings to the role . . . Though the dirt and grime in North Country are artfully applied, it's purely cosmetic and skin-deep."

In "Stories from North Country," a documentary accompanying the film on the DVD, Lois Jenson, on whom the story is based, said, "I think it's important for people to see this." Regarding Charlize Theron, Jenson said, "She has the character. [...] She knew the part. She knew what it needed – the depth she needed to go to. She's done a great job with it."

David Rooney of Variety
Variety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...

said, "[It] indulges in movie-ish manipulation in its climactic courtroom scenes. But it remains an emotionally potent story told with great dignity, to which women especially will respond . . . The film represents a confident next step for lead Charlize Theron. Though the challenges of following a career-redefining Oscar role have stymied actresses, Theron segues from Monster to a performance in many ways more accomplished . . . The strength of both the performance and character anchor the film firmly in the tradition of other dramas about working-class women leading the fight over industrial workplace issues, such as Norma Rae
Norma Rae
Norma Rae is a 1979 American drama film that tells the story of a factory worker from a small town in North Carolina, who becomes involved in the labor union activities at the textile factory where she works...

or Silkwood
Silkwood
Silkwood is a 1983 American drama film directed by Mike Nichols. The screenplay by Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen was inspired by the true-life story of Karen Silkwood, who died in a suspicious car accident while investigating alleged wrongdoing at the Kerr-McGee plutonium plant where she...

."

In the St. Petersburg Times
St. Petersburg Times
The St. Petersburg Times is a United States newspaper. It is one of two major publications serving the Tampa Bay Area, the other being The Tampa Tribune, which the Times tops in both circulation and readership. Based in St...

, Steve Persall graded the film A and called it "deeply, undeniably moving . . . crusader cinema at its finest."

Awards and nominations

  • Academy Award for Best Actress
    Academy Award for Best Actress
    Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

     (Charlize Theron, nominee)
  • Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
    Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
    Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...

     (Frances McDormand, nominee)
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (Theron, nominee)
  • Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (McDormand, nominee)
  • BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
    BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
    Best Actress in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognise an actress who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.- Winners and nominees :...

     (Theron, nominee)
  • BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
    BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
    Best Actress in a Supporting Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding supporting performance in a film...

     (McDormand, nominee)
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role – Motion Picture (Theron, nominee)
  • Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture (McDormand, nominee)
  • Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama (Theron, nominee)
  • Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (McDormand, nominee)
  • BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress
    BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Actress
    The Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress is one of nineteen awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.- List of winners and nominees :...

     (Theron, nominee)
  • BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress
    BFCA Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress
    The Critics' Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.- 1990s :*1995: Mira Sorvino - Mighty Aphrodite as Linda Ash...

     (McDormand, nominee)
  • Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
    Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2005
    The 9th Las Vegas Film Critics Society "Sierra" Awards, honoring the best in film for 2005, were given by the Las Vegas Film Critics Society on December 19, 2005.-Top 10 Films:# Brokeback Mountain# Crash...

     (McDormand, winner)
  • Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association for Best Actress
    Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
    The Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association is a group of film critics based out of Washington, D.C., United States that was founded in 2003. WAFCA is composed of 34 DC-based film critics from television, radio, print and the internet...

     (Theron, nominee)

See also

  • List of American films of 2005
  • Sexual harassment
    Sexual harassment
    Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...

  • Hostile environment sexual harassment
    Hostile environment sexual harassment
    In employment law, hostile environment sexual harassment refers to a situation where employees in a workplace are subject to a pattern of exposure to unwanted sexual behavior from persons other than an employee's direct supervisor where supervisors or managers take no steps to discourage or...

  • Michelle Vinson v. Merit One Savings Bank
    Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson
    Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 , marked the United States Supreme Court's recognition of certain forms of sexual harassment as a violation of Civil Rights Act of 1964 Title VII, and established the standards for analyzing whether conduct was unlawful and when an employer would be...

  • Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services
    Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services
    Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, , was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States. The case arose out of a suit for sex discrimination by a male oil-rig worker, who claimed that he was repeatedly subjected to sexual harassment by his male co-workers with the acquiescence of his...

  • Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story
    Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story
    Hostile Advances: The Kerry Ellison Story is a 1996 television movie based on Ellison v. Brady, a landmark sexual harassment case. This lawsuit set the precedent for the "reasonable woman" standard in sexual harassment law which allows for cases to be analyzed from the perspective of the...


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