Monster Movie Review:


Patty Jenkin’s Monster is a disgruntling look into the life and motives of Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), who is the first known female serial
killer in United States history. Though Jenkins is sympathetic towards Wuornos, this film is an uncomfortable experience to divulge about this trouble woman, a Florida prostitute that killed seven of her customers during 1989 and was executed in 2002.

The film opens with a terrific box in-frame choice that tells the backstory of Wuornos’ troubled child and teenage years. As the film progress, the
audience learns more of her childhood horrors, in which Jenkins effectively shows her pain, her anger, and her way of thinking. As a hitchhiking prostitute,
Wuornos lives day by day by what little money she can make. Her whole look on life changes when she meets 18-year old Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) in a lesbian bar. Selby is a young woman from Ohio that has been sheltered her whole life and scrutinized because of being gay. Though Selby knows Wuornos’ profession and has dealt first hand with her "don’t mess with me" manner, sparks
still fly between the two. The two decide to move into a local hotel and Aileen vows to find a real job to make ends meet. However, when her inexperience and attitude do not go over well in her interviews, she turns back to "hooking"
as she calls it. After being brutally raped by a customer, Aileen defends herself by shooting the man, and then taking his car and money. As she begins to take on more customers, the horrors of the rape among other things drive her to killing more and dumping the evidence. Her actions are also for Selby, so the two can one-day get out of Florida and live the American Dream.

Jenkins takes a very difficult story and presents it vividly. Monster is one of those films that leaves your stomach twisted for a few hours after it
is over. It is a hard film to watch, and Jenkins shows all angles of this sick woman, to where her actions are still not right, but in her mind they are
understood and necessary. Unlike what Dead Man Walking did a little too much of, this killer’s actions are seen more as to why she did what she did, and
Jenkins calls for sympathy for her, but she does not drill you for forgiveness. The script is well written for the most part, though as the credits conclude the
film, you yearn for more of what happen to Aileen Wuornos, and more so what came of Selby Wall. The character of Wall is the only slight problem with this film, at times her intentions are never explained, is it because she is immature, uncommitted, or it is a little bit of both.

The real triumph of this film is Charlize Theron’s performance and transformation as the serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Most everyone knows Theron as
the beautiful model turned actress that starred in last summer’s The Italian Job . She is unrecognizable in this film, and frighteningly mirrors what the real Aileen Wuornos looked and acted like. Theron herself gained thirty pounds
for the role, and makeup artist Toni G. took away her eyebrows, fried her hair, gave her a couple of mouth pieces to wear, some dark eye contacts, and makeup to give her a spotted or lightly freckled complexion. The transformation is nothing short of incredible, remember Robert De Niro’s transformation in Raging Bull, well this one is right there with it. Not only the look, but also Theron’s performance is probably one of the best ever by an actress to grace the screen. Her posture, accent, choices and intensity are so masterful that she
deserves every acting award for this unforgettable performance. Watch her eyes, the animosity, the pain, and the challenges in them, and her delivery of the many "Yeah, man," lines are also so poised. Her character is very troubled and very complex and Theron’s work in this film lives up to all the hype.

Christina Ricci looks about 15 years old as Selby, and is irritating at times throughout the film, but still delivers a stellar performance. Bruce Dern also delivers a solid performance in a small role as Aileen’s only friend.

Monster is a perplexing film about one of the most media celebrated serial killers of all time. Though there are some questionable notions in the
film, Patty Jenkins makes a very strong debut as a writer and director with this subject. Charlize Theron, who also produced the film, gives the best
performance of the year in her dark and rigorous turn as Aileen Wuornos.

Grade: B+

Joseph C. Tucker

If you've seen one or both of Nick Broomfield's documentaries about Aileen Wuornos (1992's Selling of a Serial Killer and 2003's Life & Death of a Serial Killer), this film has an extra element of interest ... and an even stronger gut-punch! Especially in Theron's astonishing performance, which combines with Jenkins' thoughtful script to make one of the most haunting character studies in years.

After a horrific childhood and an adult life as a hitchhiking hooker, Aileen Wournos (Theron) still hasn't given up on finding love, getting a real job and settling down. But love arrives in the unexpected form of Selby Wall (Ricci), a young woman rebelling against her conservative family. After getting used to the idea of loving a woman, Aileen begins to look for work, but she doesn't exactly have the right experience to be, say, a legal secretary! In desperation she hits the streets again, and in fear and frustration she kills one of her johns, starting a chain of events that we know doesn't have a happy ending.

This is a fascinating story--creepy and dramatic, then suddenly heartbreaking as it reaches its emotionally devastating climax. Theron gets so deep into the role that it takes our breath away, and not just because of her shocking physical transformation from statuesque supermodel to pudgy streetwalker. It's a gutsy performance that exposes Aileen's inner soul, which isn't nearly as black as we think it'll be. Ricci is a bit more problematic, as if she struggled to find Selby's essence; and we never quite get a grip on her or her motivation either. But even this adds to the unsettling atmosphere in a seriously evocative, unforgettable film that works both as a tragic personal story and as an examination of the ugly truth behind the American Dream. There are no easy answers here--Jenkins tells the story without simplistic moralising, never wallowing in sentiment or making Wuornos the movie villain we need her to be. This is inventive, clever, complex filmmaking that's exponentially eerie when combined with Broomfield's documentaries. Not just as a tabloid story, but as a look into our own souls.

Rich Cline

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