This is an aggravating movie. Slow, purposely depleted of cinematic color and warmth, and full of people treating each other badly. Mostly the poor woman (Charlize) takes the brunt of the crap. I feel terrible that she is treated like she is. Those guys are a-holes. Plain and simple. If you are a guy like that -- go kick yourself in the gonads repeatedly until you change your behavior, then do a lot of apologizing. And the port-a-potty incident, that is criminal.

A strong statement for women's rights yes, but as an entertaining way to spend one's evening, I just don't see it in that light. One step forward, five steps back. That's frustrating. While Charlize is an excellent actress, she brings little of the personal to this role. Frances McDormand and Woody Harrelson are far more interesting in their smaller performances. And oddly, its Richard Jenkins (as the hard-headed father) that clinches the film's most moving moment. The script may be partly responsible for leaving the Theron character more of a generalization than a specific person.

The story is an important one, but aside from the last 10 minutes, this film is agonizing. While today the film has poignancy, if it had been made 20 years ago - it would have been gold.

This film screened at a Laemmle Theatre.