Certification. 18
Running Time. 1 hour 49 mins
Director. Patty Jenkins
Cast. Bruce Dern, Christina Ricci, Charlize Theron.
Rating. 71%
Monster, Patty Jenkins' directorial debut, is a biographical account of the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Floridian prostitute who murdered seven men in 1989 and was subsequently executed in 2002.
We are introduced to Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) before she kills anyone. At this point, whilst she does have a gun, the only person she plans to kill is herself. Before committing suicide, however, Wuornos wants a drink, and fate leads her into a gay bar where she meets the painfully shy lesbian, Selby Wall (Christina Ricci). As Wuornos recounts, "I was gonna do it, and the only reason I didn't was a five-dollar bill. I knew I'd probably given some asshole a blowjob for it, so, it really started to piss me off that if I killed myself without spending it, well then I basically sucked him off for free!"
One of the strengths of Monster is Patty Jenkins' attempt to understand the motivation of Aileen Wuornos. The director is sympathetic, without ever overtly offering justification or excuses and honest in the portrayal of Wuornos' delusion. The director apparently spent considerable time in conversation with the convicted killer while she was on death row awaiting execution.
The other strength is Charlize Theron. Theron deservedly picked up the 2004 Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Much has been made of Theron's astounding physical transformation. The breathtakingly beautiful actress of Aeon Flux, Prometheus and Atomic Blonde (as well as several advertisement campaigns for Dior J'adore) is almost unrecognisable as the haggard, trailer-trash prostitute. But beyond the way she looks, Theron embodies Wuornos with every single gesture or mannerism, adopting an attitude befitting such a deluded and deranged individual.
As such, Monster is, at times, a difficult watch. I suspect because you don't actually see any of the early abuse or the brutal rape itself, Jenkins creates a degree of empathy for the character. The initial murder is justifiable. Having been beaten and raped, she uses the gun in self-defence. But Wuornos' victims become increasingly more innocent. Monster does not offer absolution for Wuornos' repugnant crimes, instead the film centres on a love story. The unlikely romance between Aileen and Selby, which uncomfortably begins quite innocently (or perhaps more appropriately, naively) and ultimately evolves into a toxic co-dependency with devastating results.
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