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North Country is an Academy Award-nominated film directed by Niki Caro and released in 2005. It stars Charlize Theron as a female worker at a mining company who is sexually harassed and leads a class-action lawsuit against her employer for failing to protect her and other female employees. Theron garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in the film. Frances McDormand, playing Theron's tough friend Glory, also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The film is based on the case Jenson v. Eveleth Taconite Co., brought by Lois Jenson, although Theron's character in the movie is named Josey Aimes (many other characters in the movie are consolidations of several real-life individuals). Principal photography on the film began in February 2005, and it was shot in northern Minnesota (including the towns of Eveleth and Virginia), Minneapolis, and New Mexico. The film was inspired by the book Class Action by Clara Bingham and Laura Leedy Gansler.
PlotSpoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.
Image:NorthCountryTheron.JPG Charlize Theron as Josey Aimes
The iron mine where she is employed used to have only male workers, but now there is a growing number of women seeking jobs. Both management and workers, including Josey's father, feel that women do not belong there; there is a recession, and the men feel that women are taking jobs directly from the men. Josey is aware of the problems, but takes a job at the mine because it pays well, and she has to support her two children. She can handle the work, but is targeted, along with the other women, with sexual harassment and bullying. She tries to complain to management, and through her union representative, but things continue to get worse. Finally she quits. She begins a sexual harassment lawsuit against her employer for failing to protect not only her but also the other female employees. She is initially unsuccessful, as the other women are both desperate to keep their jobs and afraid of the consequences if the lawsuit fails, and refuse to back her. She finally tries to plead he case at a labor union meeting, but is shouted down. Her father steps up, and points out that they would never treat wives and daughters this way, and questions why they feel it is right to treat his daughter so.
Spoilers end here.
ProductionThe lawsuit which inspired the film was settled in 1998, 14 years after it was first filed and over 20 years after the harassments began. In the scene where Michelle Monaghan is trapped in the portable outhouse which is rocked and tipped over by her male co-workers, the supposed human waste was actually made of Gatorade, Cocoa Puffs, and pumpkin pie fillings. Cast
US box officeNorth Country opened to 2,555 screens in Canada and the U.S and made 6,422,455 dollars in the film's opening weekend. As of January 8, 2006 the film had grossed 18.3 million dollars, but still there was some disappointment among the crew and studio because the film was expected to do better at the box office. The budget for the film was 35 million dollars. SoundtrackIn addition to previously released recordings by Bob Dylan, as well as cover versions of Dylan songs, the soundtrack includes a new Dylan song, "Tell Ol' Bill", recorded in 2005. See also
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