I read the two entries written below. It was as if the viewers had seen two different movies. Now that I’ve seen it, I can understand both points of view. The story is powerful, on par with Erin Brockovich. The rendering is one dimensional. I’d say the film is worth watching, if only for the documentary aspects of it. This was a landmark case in sexual harassment litigation. The group dynamics are well worth studying. I recommend it, but be forewarned: It can be very graphic and deeply offensive.

I haven’t read the book “CLASS ACTION” that this is based off of, but even recognizing that they amalgamated people into some characters did not lessen my appreciation for this film.

Ok, the court room scenes were weak, the ending felt unrealistic & rushed as everyone just suddenly changed their minds & sided with Josey.

I wonder if the sexual history of the character was put in to make her seem more sympathetic/more put upon or was actually part of the real woman’s life? Either way it almost detracted from the point of the film. Even if she was a “woman of loose morals” that shouldn’t affect her believability as a witness or affect whether the harassment in the mines was acceptable or not. Yet it seemed like the ending made it seem like “oh she was raped” now we believe her.

Woody Harrelson’s ice pee speech was just pathetic and I’m not sure how that public shaming would’ve swung someone’s testimony180 degrees.

Aside from those issues, the film was incredibly powerful.
It was great to see the background to this landmark case. To see what kinds of things happened to these women. To see that it wasn’t so long ago that all these things happened.
Unfortunately, most of us have had to put up with sexist comments/behavior (even if it’s a kind of “benevolent” sexism) on the job – but (hopefully) few of us have had to deal with a constant barrage of attacks both verbally, physically and psychological from all sides. It’s hard to imagine, sometimes hard to watch – but so worth the viewing.

I think the film was good about showing that not all the men were bad, but the circumstances that would lead all the workers (men & women) to just put up with it and not say anything. I thought some of the most powerful scenes were from the women who had worked there a while and felt they had to put up with it. I wish they had dealt more w/ the bald guy who you could tell thought the behavior was wrong and made some weak attempts to stop it. I did like how they showed that even someone who loved the “victim” could stand by & be silent because of a culture of intimidation/fear, “comrade-ship”/ code of silence and just old fashioned sexism.

The scenes of retaliation and societal backlash were also immensely powerful making us understand what a struggle it can be to stand up for what is right. I liked how they reminded us by including clips of Anita Hill speaking of her story.

So even though there are some cliches and some troubles with the sudden unrealistic ending (apparently the real case took about 10 years to settle) – it is well worth watching and overlooking a few minor flaws.

I will also be checking out the book to read to learn even more.
I recommend it to all!

What an absolute joke of a movie. I don’t care how much of it is real and how much of it is fabricated, this is a paint-by-numbers example of how not to make a movie. I really feel sorry for the good cast that wasted their time on this garbage.

This movie is one lame set-up after another. Don’t even think about the story. It’s the cookie-cutter sideplots that makes this one of the worst movies of the year.

Take the rebellious son, for example. He’s a jerk, and runs away from home, only to have Boromir use his wisdom to tell him that his mom loves him and he should go home. Also, he gives him a watch, which doesn’t make up for trying to steal his ring. So he goes home and is then eternally happy with his mom forever. Yeah, I’ve never seen that in a movie before.

Oh and then there’s the guy that retired from law so he can’t take Aeon Flux’ case, so she has to convince him to come out of retirement. Yeah, that’s new, too!

My favorite part, though, is the dramatic scene in the courtroom when all of a sudden everyone decides to take Monster’s side. They were all scared, but then just decide to switch sides for no apparent reason. They even do it in dramatic fashion where they all stand up one at a time. I wonder if beforehand they decided amongst themselves in what order they should stand.

This is a movie that could have been good, but it was written by a complete dolt, who will never win an award. ever. The story is fine, it’s the execution that is laughable. This is exactly what a HOLLYWOOD writer does. They recycle everything else that’s ever been done…and guess what, loser? You got nominated for NO Oscars or Golden Globes, and this is about as Oscar-bait of a movie as they come. How very sad you are.