North Country

Director Niki Caro and her crew have made North Country as if it’s cinema’s only chance to accurately and definitively depict the horrors of workplace sexual harassment. In a world where moviegoers are more often likely to fork out for the sight of things blowing up than for the unpleasant reality of women’s political hardships, Caro goes all or nothing with her picture. The result probably will stand for some time as the most important and effective movie made on this subject. Let’s face it: Who else is rushing to tell this kind of story on the big screen? Charlize Theron is excellent as Josey Aimes, the Minnesota mineworker who sues her employer. The film is “inspired” by a real-life case, the first sexual-harassment class-action suit. But beware: While the marketing would have you believe this is a true story, the movie is, by historical standards, almost completely fictitious.