Charlize Theron stars in a fictional adaptation of the book “Class Action: The Landmark Case that Changed Sexual Harassment Law” which documents the first major sexual harassment class action in the United States.
She plays Josie Aimes, a mother of two who moves back to her Northern Minnesota hometown in the search of a job when her marriage disintegrates.
She eventually finds employment at the local iron mines, but soon discovers that women are far from welcome in male dominated pits.
However, despite the persistent physical and mental abuse that she suffers – her co workers use excrement to smear “Cvnt” on her locker, masturbate on her possessions, and one even attempts to rape her – she refuses to resign, and launches a class action for sexual harassment against the firm that controls the mine.
They say:
Total Film: "Niki Caro's Hollywood debut is as well-acted as Whale Rider. But it lacks the spine to match its leading lady's richly layered contribution.”
Guardian: "This movie is pathetically scared of alienating the male audience demographic and makes Theron's victory entirely contingent on being extravagantly forgiven by her father and her son.”
Empire: "It starts off well enough but slowly sinks under the leaden weight of its worthiness, an over hopeful bid for Oscars which is undermined by the totally absurd courtroom climactics.”
We say:
This latest offering from Niki “Whale Rider” Caro is a throwback to the blue collar feminist movies of the 1980s such as “Norma Rae” and “Silkwood”.
But whereas Sally Field and Meryl Streep were thoroughly convincing as working class heroines, Theron doesn't cut it - a fact not missed by Sean Bean’s character who recognises: “she’s kinda girly to be a miner.”
Of the other big name stars Frances McDormand shines as a union rep struck down by Lou Gehrig's disease, and it’s nice to see Bean not playing a token British villain for once, but Woody Harrelson is hopelessly miscast as Aimes’ lawyer.
In fact, the whole of the final third – which revolves around the court case itself – lacks plausibility as Caro falls back on formulaic Hollywood cliches, with a string of mawkish monologues and an embarrassingly melodramatic finale.
CAST
Charlize Theron, Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek,
Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins,
Michelle Monaghan, Thomas Curtis
DIRECTOR
Niki Caro
TIME
126 mins
POSTED...
Mon 5 Jun 2006 at 10:53am
