The Passion of Josey Aimes

North Country
Directed by: Niki Caro
Written by: Michael Seitzman (inspired by a true story as chronicled in
Class Action: The Story of Lois Jensen and the Landmark Case That
Changed Sexual Harassment Law) Starring: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand,
Richard Jenkins, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, and Sean Bean

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[A conversation between Joe Reid and Nathaniel R]

Nathaniel R: So, do you have time. should we discuss Erin Northovich [sic]?
Joe Reid: Go for it, i'm here --actually, it's funny, because Erin was on TNT all weekend - it's a very re-watchable movie, as it turns out

N: Yes. you know it was in my top ten list that year (2000). I love it unashamedly. It has a level of craft that is just amazing to me: gorgeous cutting, cinematography, everything.
J: It's fantastic, really. More of a star turn for Julia Roberts, obviously, than North Country was for Charlize

N: Well true. But before we get into our very different reactions I do want to alleviate any fears from readers that I'll be out for blood with Charlize. I think she's good in the film.
J: And it doesn't rely on as much "gimmick" as the Monster role does.

N: true. Although in terms of what the film needs from her, Monster is definitely the superior vehicle.
J: She's less impressive than Monster, I think, but it shows she can be a dramatic lead actress without having to gain weight / get ugly.

N: Yes. I always sort of liked her. I think she's quite good in that awful 'deal with the devil' Al Pacino movie, The Devil's Advocate.
J: I think she's as good as that movie requires her to be - which doesn't say much. That's one of those so-bad-it's-good movies, for me.

N: for me it's just so-bad-it's-bad
J: Heh

N: But I think she has a sort of commitment to it, in the Devil's Advocate, that's missing in the other performers. Like she's taking it so seriously that it almost feels like a different movie when she's onscreen. And I think she was also way better than her material in both of her Woody Allen outings.
J: I would agree. I enjoyed her in Cider House, I must say. I never thought she was a "bad" actress in anything but Bagger Vance , really.

N: I wisely escaped that one. So, when it comes to Norma Country I appreciated that she was giving it her all. I think she is far better than the material again. Though not award worthy.
J: I think she's nominatable without guilt, although I can't say as she'd be on my personal ballot. She's outshone by McDormand, for one, although many actresses would be. I think it's interesting to look back on 2003, because I think Theron has more promise as an artist than Niki Caro does; because this is the second straight movie that I find myself underwhelmed by her.

N: So you think Whale Rider, Caro's last film, was overappreciated?
J: Yes. Not so much that I find fault with it, I just thought it wasn't the huge revelation everyone else thought it was.

N: On this we agree. But I think we disagree on North Country.
J: See, I think the big thing about North Country is accepting it for what it is - and what it is is a story about building a case for the sexual harassment lawsuit . . . I think the film really needs to make the conditions unbearable, and as I was watching it i could see that it was gonna catch flak for being so blunt w/ its male characters, and it was, but in the end, that's pretty much necessary if you're trying to show why Josey would bring suit against her employer. I think where Caro ultimately falls short is the courtroom scenes, which are so cliched and uninspired. And that horris stand-and-deliver ending.
*horrid*

N: But it was just so purple in the setup scenes. I felt like the men should all be twirling moustaches and or wearing black hats. Even in the design elements of the film, like makeup, etc... it's so much kinder to the women. It's not that they are glammed up or anything. The women are still realistic but so many of the men are such grotesques that there were moments where I felt like I was watching a Terry Gilliam film. Only without the humor.
J: I think if I were in Caro's shoes, the one change I'd have made would have been to show a scene early on, showing what Jenkins says about how the men treat their wives and daughters at company picnics. For the contrast. But, again, I think to make the lawsuit seem not just plausible, but *necessary*, the mine has to become something of a horror show.

N: But why embellish so much? It's not that I don't believe the story. It's that it's so overbearing in its messaging that you start to think "does Caro and her writer think we wouldn't find it offensive enough if they just had excrement on the walls of their rooms and got beat up occassionally?" She overstates her case. Which is a good one already. And to make it even more problematic she bends over backwards to sanctify Josie. This woman can do no wrong. It's the most manipulated I've felt in the movie theater in a very long time. And for me the only saving grace was the performances. I felt like Theron wasn't content with being a saintly martyr which I liked. There is a toughness and a slight abrasiveness to her characterization that I don't feel the script calls for and that, given the evidence of her two films, that Caro would have encouraged either.
J: I agree that the acting bails North Country out in many instances. Mostly with regard to Theron, too, I think you've got that. Especially in the scenes with her kids, I think Charlize brings a lot of "flawed parent" to the role.

N: Yes. I know we're supposed to find the quiet scene with her son late in the movie as heartwarming but that to me was also a horror show. I felt. Wow, this kid is going to need therapy.
J: Yeah.

N: Richard Jenkins was also terrific as the dad. But the film fails him too.
J: Jenkins's arc isn't the most credible, I agree. The man is such a good actor, though, that you want to look past it.

N: I felt myself welling up at his big turnaround scene. The fact that I wanted to buy it even while hating what the film was doing was all Jenkins .
J: I have to say, though, I was somewhat in love with the cinematography and art direction.

N: Well they are quite good. It's just that what they're in service of is so useless to me. To me it's like one of those expensive looking historical social dramas. Take something that everyone agrees is awful. Make a black and white case for it. Overstate your case. Since everyone agrees and you aren't bringing any troubling edges to it, watch as the audience cheers. Blech!
J: Eh, I don't know if I would go that far. I think a lot of the time if a story is filmed the right way, it becomes worthy almost regardless of story. I don't think I needed North Country to tell me anything new about sexual harassment to be a good film. I thought it was remarkable in evoking a very specific and not all that distant time and place, which I think can be more difficult than it seems.

N: But why make Charlize's character such a saint. Why can't we present a flawed woman, as Charlize is willing to and STILL want to see her not abused. Even if she had been a total whore, as the townsfolk suggest, shouldn't she also deserve a harassment free workplace?
J: Agreed.

N: I feel like Caro doesn't trust the audience to understand this.
J: Agreed.

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