Monster

Rating

Director

Patty Jenkins

Screenplay

Patty Jenkins

Length

109 min.

Starring

Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Lee Tergesen, Annie Corley

MPAA Rating

R (For strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language)

Review

A highway hooker turns tricks into treachery as a Florida serial killer has her story told in Monster.

Charlize Theron hides her outstanding beauty behind added pounds, fake teeth and a poor complexion to portray notorious serial killer Aileen Wuornos whose killing spree targeted lecherous men all so she could support the love of her life. Christina Ricci plays the awkward Selby whose self esteem perks up when she meets the unattractive Wuornos who dodges into a gay bar to get a few drinks before heading back out as a prostitute.

When Selby moves outthinking that Aileen will support her, Wuornos goes back to prostitution to keep her new love content. Everything goes downhill when a John attempts to rape her, after which she is intended to be his next murder victim. The scene, one of the most brutally realistic in modern film, makes Aileen’s murderous response expected, understandable and even laudable. From there, the screenplay shifts to focus on the events that led Aileen to continue killing.

Theron plays Wuornos with an unexpected vigor. Her mannerisms, look and style blend to form the perfect character. Theron’s performance easily overshadows her castmates with the exception of the experienced thesp Ricci who is easily able to keep up.

As we see Aileen use her emotional attachment to Selby to further her deadly series, Selby only instigates matters when she laments leaving home after Aileen’s false promises to make life better for them. Wuornos, mentally unstable as she was, had an analytical mind that helped her dodge capture and fly under police radar, despite a mounting body count.

Writer and director Patty Jenkins provides a colorful backdrop for the story that unfolds. However, with more attention paid to shock than to storytelling, the violence and incredulity take the front seat while our suspension of disbelief is resigned only to the understanding and loathing of the film’s main characters.

Monster is a film about a woman who was truly barbaric in her crimes but with flawed reasoning behind it all. Few could understand her rationale and many would never have taken it so far. The first time was self defense, the remaining were despicable and unrelenting. The audience can sympathize with a character who does everything they can for the person they love. They can even understand the need to fulfill the desires of a love despite the evident self-centeredness of those needs. But they cannot understand what drives someone to kill again and again.

Perhaps Aileen was not rational. Perhaps her low self-esteem led her down a path of use and abuse by someone whose own self-doubt only added fuel to the flame. Perhaps she was just a cold blooded lunatic. Monster presents all of these viewpoints but never forces the audience to make a decision. The only conclusion we’re led to is that, unbalanced or not, Aileen Wuornos did only a few good and very many bad things and paid for those deeds in the end.

Review Written

April 1, 2004