Great performance by Charlize
For me the best thing about North Country was Charlize Theron's excellent performance. Her brilliant, Oscar-winning portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in Monster will be impossible to beat through the rest of her career, but the great thing about this film is that it proved Monster was not just a once-off lucky streak, that she really is an excellent dramatic actress. She is particularly good at conveying Josey's raw anger at being victimized, how trapped and frustrated she feels, her tense relationship with her son, and her even more painful relationship with her father (very well played by Richard Jenkins). With a lesser actress North Country could have easily descended into melodramatic TV-movie clichés, but Charlize certainly earned her second Oscar nomination with this role.
share