Well-acted and worthy though it is, North Country is still just one of those 'inspired by a true story' dramas that deserve to have nice things said about them simply because they're well-acted and worthy.

It's a shame that the 'all men are b*stards' tone is overdone and, as a tale of injustice in the workplace, the biggest irony is that this doesn't do justice to its excellent cast.

Escaping from an abusive husband to her snowy hometown in North Minnesota, mother-of-two Josey Aimes (Theron) receives a warm welcome from Mum (Sissy Spacek) and unconcealed disapproval from dad Hank (Richard Jenkins).

Desperate for a fresh start, Josey takes a job at the local iron mine, having been forewarned by her friend Glory (McDormand) - the mine's only female union rep - that she'll need to develop a thick skin.

Why? Because this is a place where the men are men and the women aren't. Actually, the term 'men' implies mature human males but Josey rapidly discovers that the majority of the workforce are sexist Neanderthals.

Feeling that this is no place for a woman, they harass the beleaguered ladies verbally, physically and pictorially (as evidenced by their crude cave paintings). Josey eventually snaps, but her complaints fall on deaf ears.

Nasty rumours are also making Josey and her teenage son outsiders in the community, with Josey's only ally in her crusade for justice being Bill White (Harrelson), the washed-up lawyer who takes her case.

Both know that nobody has ever filed, let alone won, a class action suit for sexual harassment. What they don't know is that Josey's sexual behaviour is about to be cruelly exposed in court...

There's a whiff of cheese about the courtroom scenes which let down an otherwise competent drama. A subplot involving Josey's son takes centre stage, culminating in a laughably unconvincing turnaround in the witness stand.

The sense of adventure that marked director Caro's promising debut Whale Rider is all but absent here, so her latest movie gets its message across without ever gaining momentum or packing an emotional punch.

Elliott Noble