Two seasoned actresses return to the form that won them Oscars in ‘North Country.’ Charlize Theron “hags it up” once again to play Josey Aimes, a mother who begins work at a mining company to support her two children. The other, Frances McDormand, reprises the role of a Northern Minnesotan, a role that made her famous in ‘Fargo.’ Honestly, what are the odds that someone’s gonna play someone from Minnesota twice in their career. Wait, is Fargo in Minnesota or North Dakota? I forget. Whatever, it’s close enough.

Simply put, the film chronicles the first woman to stand up against sexual harassment in the workplace. The story goes much deeper than that however. There are many more gray areas than you might imagine. How much would you deal with to support your family? Wouls you speak up, knowing that doing so would incite further sophomoric (ooh, vocab) attacks and jokes, making matters worse? Say you’re good at taking it and dishing it out. Do you stick up for a fellow coworker? The toughest position however is her father, who also works at the mines. Trying to balance sticking up for your daughter without alienating your friends isn’t easy to manage. The film presents all these dilemmas while fluidly integrating the storyline. It’s not an easy thing to do, yet the makers of the film seem to do it effortlessly.

The only problem I had with the film is the climactic courtroom scene, which seemed much too Hollywood to occur in real life. People yell, walk in unannounced, and witnesses walk off the stand. What’s worse: I don’t have a crystal-clear idea of what ‘badgering the witness’ is, but I’m pretty sure that Woody Harrelson’s (where has he been?) ‘yellow or ‘red’ speech constitutes just that.