Paging Oscar #2. Oscar #2, you have a call from Miss Charlize Theron.
Sure, she’s doing sci-fi action adventure in the upcoming Aeon Flux, but Charlize isn’t necessarily going the way of Halle Berry and giving up meaty roles. She’s going to be starring in North Country, a fictionalized account of the first ever sexual harassment class-action lawsuit, Jensen v Eveleth. Here’s how Publisher’s Weekly describes the case in their review of Class Action: The Story of Lois Jenson and the Landmark Case That Changed Sexual Harassment Law: “In 1975, Lois Jenson became one of the first women to work in the iron mines of Minnesota and the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. Eveleth Mines was Jenson’s employer. The center of the story is the 25-year ordeal Jenson and other women miners underwent: the harshness and callousness of the abuse directed at the women in the uncivilized and misogynist atmosphere of the mine will outrage readers.”
In the film, Charlize plays Josey Aimes, a single mom who leads her fellow employees against the abuse they receive as mine workers. The cast includes Sissy Spacek, Woody Harrelson, Sean Bean and Frances McDormand. It’s directed by Niki Caro, whose Whale Rider I absolutely adored.
The poster leaves me a little cold, but I don’t know how else you sell an earnest film that’s obviously trying to be in the tradition of Norma Rae and Silkwood (and good for them!). The film comes out on October 14th, just in time to tempt that little gold statue.