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'North Country': Theron digs into abused miner role

Wooed to Hollywood after making the exceptional New Zealand folk lore fable, Whale Rider, director Niki Caro handles the transition to a larger canvas and bigger budget well in North Country, a by-the-numbers story of sexual harassment and female empowerment.

Warner Brothers Pictures 'North Country' B- The verdict: A fictionalized tale of workplace injustice righted, with a fine performance by Theron. Director: Niki Caro Starring: Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean Release date: Oct. 14, 2005 Rating: R for sequences involving sexual harassment including violence and dialogue, and for language. See showtimes On the web Official movie site View the trailer    Trailers require Quicktime Rate 'North Country'   Go see it   Make it a matinee   Wait to rent   Don't bother Voter Limit: Once per Hour View Poll Results

Although there are the usual false notes in bringing an untidy true tale to the screen and making it conform to formula, Caro draws impressive performances from her cast, notably Charlize Theron as the woman who stands up to the male-dominated mining industry.

The Oscar-winning actress (Monster) again chooses a deglamorized role, that of single mother Josey Aimes, who leaves her physically abusive mate and moves back in with her parents in blue-collar Minnesota, where she pushes her way into a hard labor job at the local mine.

Comparisons to Norma Rae or Erin Brockovich seem inevitable, as Josey accepts the hostility of the other miners for so long, then fights back in court and wins a class-action suit against the fictionalized mining company.

Though it covers familiar territory, North Country manages it effectively. Still, screenwriter Michael Seitzman overloads Josey's character with too much personal history.

She is encouraged to work in the mine by a forklift operator (Frances McDormand, affecting her Fargo accent) whose occupational arthritis turns into Lou Gehrig's disease.

Go to North Country for Theron's performance, which levitates above the screenplay's excesses. Sissy Spacek has a few good moments as Josey's supportive mom. And Woody Harrelson arrives as a lawyer who reluctantly takes on Josey's case.

That class-action sexual harassment suit was a groundbreaking event. North Country is not.