Netflix Movie Review - “North Country”

REVIEW: It is on the same vein as Silkwood, Norma Rae and Erin Brockovich, but just not as good. While the performances are flawless, the screenplay is sometime sophomoric, so much so that it almost obliterates its feminist message. On the up side we both found it to be very enjoyable drama that's impressively shot.  Academy Award winners Charlize Theron and Frances McDormand are both suburb and supported by a strong cast. It is so well acted, that you can overlook it flaws.  We give it [3-1/2 Stars].

SYNOPSIS: When Josey Aimes returns to her hometown in Northern Minnesota after a failed marriage, she needs a good job. A single mother with two children to support, she turns to the predominant source of employment in the region - the iron mines. It's an industry long dominated by men, in a place unaccustomed to change. Encouraged by her old friend Glory, one of the few female miners in town, Josey joins the ranks of those laboring to blast ore from rock in the gaping quarries. Prepared for the back-breaking and often dangerous work, coping with the harassment she and the other female miners encounter proves far more challenging. When Josey speaks out against the treatment she and her fellow workers face she is met with resistance - not only from those in power but from a community that doesn't want to hear the truth, her disapproving parents and many of her own colleagues who fear she is only making things worse. The fallout from Josey's battle to make a better future for herself and her children will affect every aspect of her life, including her relationship with her young daughter and her sensitive teenage son, who must first cope with the embarrassment of his mother's sudden notoriety and then face harsh details of her past she was hoping he would never have to know. Through these struggles Josey will find the courage to stand up for what she believes in - even if that means standing alone. Inspired by a true story, North Country follows Josey's journey on a road that will take her farther than she ever imagined, ultimately inspiring countless others, and leading to the nation's first-ever class action lawsuit for sexual harassment.