Monster

Rating:
Summary: GRIPPING BIOPIC
Review: Is it simply a potrait or a posthumous appeal with a subject convenient enough to include enough violence and gore to make Hollywood-smitten fans line up? The film is such a dense, compelling story with amazing performances that it leaves you asking WHY its protagonist was driven to commit those highway murders..

Not that "Monster" asks us to feel sorry for Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who killed seven men in the 1980s. The director asks only that we try to understand her. Theron's performance reveals a confused young woman who became a prostitute at 13 after being continually raped by her father's best friend and then being blamed and beaten by her father when he found out.

As a movie that attempts to psychoanalyzes a serial killer's idiosynchracies, this movie is nowhere near some of the better classics (e.g., the Hannibal Lecter series, Midnight Cowboy, Badlands etc etc) but it is an interesting, well-made potrayal of the real-life Wuornos. I was intrigued to the point of googling for Wuronos and found that www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/wuornos/ has some good information that dispels the hyperbole surrounding this disturbed character.

Theron's performance is of course brave and tortured. But I was even more impressed with Ricci, whose mannerisms aren't as noticeable. Her subtle performance as Wuornos' pathetically optimistic girlfriend comes closer to breaking the heart.

Despite knowing the denouement -- Aileen Wuornos is such a known quantity that we do know where she's going (death row) -- it's the sense of utter unpredictability that makes "Monster" so gripping. Theron and Ricci are so absorbing, and Jenkins' direction so deft, that we root for history to take a turn it can't possibly take, and for Aileen and Selby to live happily ever.

Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Performance of a Lifetime
Review: I saw "Monster" a few nights ago, and still find myself thinking about Charlize Theron and the performance she gave. This is surely the performance of a lifetime...for her, and possibly for anyone who sees this film. Acting truly gets no better than this....period, end of story. Forget about the make-up, which is incredible...forget about the weight gain, which totally camoflages Theron's stunning beauty...they're secondary to an acting job that is an incredible work of art. There is no other choice for this year's Oscar for Best Actress...there shouldn't even be a contest. No one else deserves this honor.

Christina Ricci should have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress...she was robbed, as was the film, which undoubtedly belongs in the race for Best Picture, not to mention Patty Jenkins who should have recieved a nod for Best Director.

In every sense of the word, "Monster" is a shattering, American tragedy.

Rating:
Summary: A monster of a performance!!
Review: Based on the true story of Aileen Wournos, the first female serial killer in U.S. history, Monster deals with her life and how the situations she was subjected to ended up making her what she became. However, this is done in such a way as to not free Wournos of all the blame. Sure, she went through a lot and she didn't start up to become a serial killer, but she could, at one point, had stopped, yet she chose to continue that path.

The film's intro quickly puts us up to date on who Aileen (Theron) is. She was a little girl who dreamed of big things, but who got lost along the way ending up hooking when she was thirteen years old. She keeps looking for her big break, that one opportunity, that one man who will see her for what she is and take her away from the life she knows and to something better.

When we first meet Lee, as she likes to be called, she's about to kill herself, sitting in the rain under a highway bridge. For some reason, she decides against suicide and walks into a gay bar where she finds Selby Ward (Ricci), a young woman who's been sent by her parents to stay at some friends house and try to "see the light" and change her homosexual ways.

They don't realize it at first, but this fortuitous meeting gives both women what they were looking for. They become fast friends and eventually lovers, even though Lee clearly indicates she's not a lesbian. Lee sees in Selby that person who will love her unconditionally and with whom it will be worthwhile to build a new life. Selby sees in Wournoss the first person who not only doesn't mind her sexual orientation, but also someone who will take care of her and provide for all the things she's ever wanted.

While turning tricks one night to make money to be with Selby, Lee stumbles into a crazy man who rapes and tortures her, and who intends to kill her. She manages to free herself from the ropes that tie her hands and shoots her john in self defense. She takes his money and his car, and takes Selby away with her to star their new life. She decides to stop working as a prostitute and unsuccessfully tries to find an honest job, but she gets rejected every time. All the while, Selby is growing anxious because she wants to have all the things that Lee offered her, but since she's not working anymore, they start to run out of money. Defeated and not wanting to let Selby down, Lee decides to return to prostitution, but instead of turning tricks, she starts killing and robbing her clients.

This goes on for a while, as their relationship starts to go sour. Lee is desperate to do whatever she needs to to keep Selby, while Selby, consciously or not, forces her to continue killing people.

I won't spoil the ending if I tell you that Aileen eventually gets captured and sentenced to death row (this is a true story). The goal of the movie is to present Lee and Selby's relationship, and to raise the question of which one of the is the real monster. Is it Lee for killing all those people in cold blood? Is it Selby for making her continue? Is it society for making her what she became? You be the judge of that.

What makes this film relevant is the acting. Most of the screen time is shared by Theron and Ricci and they both do wonderful jobs. Ricci is excellent as the naive, scared Selby, but the film belongs start to end to Theron. Her transformation into Wournos is truly amazing and goes far beyond the great makeup used to make her look like the real Lee. She not only gained a lot of weight (around 30lbs.) but she also adopted many of Wournos' mannerisms (one can only assume). The way she talks, the way she laughs, how she walks, she completely disappears into the role. All in all the best female performance of the year and truly deserving of all the awards she's earned.

Rating:
Summary: Theron is Oscar worthy
Review: A bulked up and chunky Charlize Theron is mesmerizing in her stunning and somewhat sympathetic portrayal of hard case Florida highway prostitute and executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Beaten and abused as a child Wuornos turns to turning tricks early on and essentially grows up on the streets.

She meets Selby, played wonderfully by Christina Ricci, a sexually conflicted young woman in a bar in Florida and they soon become lesbian lovers. Theron vows to support her and show her the good life. With no marketable workplace skills she reverts to prostitution to make some money. While servicing a john she gets manacled and savagely beaten. She manages to free herself and in a justifiable homicide, shoots and kills the pervert with a gun she'd been carrying. She robs his money and car.

With pressure on Theron to support Ricci financially her mind takes a severe psychological twist.

Theron in her defining role shows awesome acting ability, far beyond her previous efforts. The scope of her performance overshadows that of Ricci who was also noteworthy. Bruce Dern, in a supporting role is his usual creepy self.Kudos to the makeup artist who transformed the gorgeous Theron into the tough looking dark rooted blonde that was Wuornos.

Rating:
Summary: A beatifully tragic masterpeice
Review: This is one of the best movie's I've ever seen. I'm not going to go into a whole lot of usless detail or spoil the movie for you. However, let me say that both Charlize Theron AND Christina Ricci's performances are awesome and Charlize's is beyond acting.

The story is touchingly sweet, yet horrifying just like it must have been in real life. Aileen's love for Selby will have you tearing up. I'm not an expert on Aileen, but the story does seem like it is a pretty accurate depiction of both her character and her story.

Let me just say that this movie renewed my faith in "the movies". After seeing lots of bad movies, I had just about had it.

BUT...

I did see a matenee and noticed that some of the older people that were watching it with us left with a different impression. They probably didn't sympathize with Aileen as much as I did and probably didn't appriciate the lesbo love. They were also probably looking for a cheery ending. I guess just don't take your grandma to see this one.

Rating:
Summary: The best movie, and best performance, of 2003.
Review: "Monster" is easily one of the most gripping movies to come along in years, owing to both the potent subject matter and the stellar performances by the two female leads. It is a sad, brutal story about the unfortunate lives of two women who find solace in each other, and their struggle for survival leads to a murder spree that produced America's first female serial killer.

Based on the true account of Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), her sad story will grip you from the beginning. She was a prostitute from the age of 13, and has led the hardest of lives. She has never known love, affection, and has lived on a wing and a prayer. The real life Wuornos claimed to have slept with over 250,000 men in her lifetime. One night, she meets a young kindred spirit named Selby (Christina Ricci). She lives under slightly better circumstances, but still feels detached from the rest of society, being a lesbian in a strictly religious family. What blossoms is a love story between these two girls. Wuornos is not a lesbian per-se, but she is smitten with Selby, who is the first person to love her for who she really is, and not treat her like trash and cast her aside. One fateful encounter with a vicious john and potential killer turns the tide. Wuornos kills a john who has beat and raped her, and if given the chance, would have killed her. This starts her down a pit with greasy sides, and she takes to the streets and kills as many johns who will pick her up. Her motives are both money and survival, for her and Selby, who is naïve and squeamish but willing to play along. Her initial killing was justifiable, and the audience will empathize with her for it, but the murders that ensue become more and more senseless.

"Monster" is not a morality tale, nor does it condone or condemn the crimes Wuornos commits. It tells the story of one life that started in the gutter and never quite crawled out. Wuornos is a character who is both physically and personally unattractive, drunk and mouthy throughout most of the movie, but you cannot help but feel sadness for her, though you don't forgive her for the crimes she commits. The Selby character is the Yin to the Yang in this case. She is much younger than Wuornos, and while open about her homosexuality, she is still confused and somewhat disillusioned about the world around her. She is in it for the love and security, while Wuornos is surprised that she can love at all after the life she's lived.

There has been much buzz about Charlize Theron's powerhouse performance, so much that it has overshadowed every other aspect of the movie. The hype, however, is very much deserved. Theron doesn't just play the part, she becomes it. She plays with honesty and conviction that we rarely see in performances nowadays. Even more shocking is how she has transformed for the role. The makeup effects aside (which add 10 years to her life), she gained 30 pounds for the role, and her physical appearances suggest countless rapes, beatings, and the ravages of hard living and consumption. The transformation has to be seen to be believed. Christina Ricci has only gotten better with age, and while this role is more subdued than her best (The Opposite of Sex leaps to mind), she is fantastic as always.

What I respect most about "Monster" is that it is not overly dramatic in trying to humanize some pretty nasty characters, nor does it pander to the typical Hollywood clichés. Having said that, it is also doesn't pull any punches. The violence and rape scenes will leave scars on more sensitive viewers, but even the most dismissive viewers cannot deny the impact of this movie, and the performance of Theron will stand as one of the best female lead roles in recent years.

Rating:
Summary: Charlize Is Brilliant
Review: I had seen the TV documentary on the serial killer upon whom this film was based, and the documentary included film of her in court and in interviews (she has since been executed for her crimes).

When I say that Charlize Theron picked up the look, the mannerisms, the speech patterns, and even the walk of this woman, that's an understatement. Charlize IS the murderer--a loser hooker who's had a horrible life, but who has a heart, albeit twisted and sick.

Theron's transformation into this horrific murder is so much more than makeup. Even as we see her commit her unspeakable crimes, she somehow makes us sense that beneath it all, there is some humanity...morphed into a sick sense that what she is doing is right.

"Monster" is not an easy movie to watch, but it is completely fascinating. This review is being written before the Oscars, and I can see Theron winning Best Actress--and deserving it.

Rating:
Summary: Wow the Realism
Review: The realism of this film is unbelivable to see the beautiful Charlize Theron playing the haywire role of a real life serial killer Aileen Wournos who was executed in 2002.The acting was Powerful,as it showed the horrendous life of a prostitute driving Aileen Wournos to the killing of at least seven men in Florida.The movie shows some sympathy towards Aileen and the life she lived but, no vindication towards her actions.Christina Ricci plays Selby Wall a young confused gril of her sexuality trying to find her way in life ends up finding Aileen and becoming sexual parterns and best friends as they are both in there own little world.Bruce Dern gives a small prerformance but a good one as the closest friend Aileen had.So watch this riveting true story come to a end,and be flabbergasted by Charlize's portrayal of Aileen Wournos as she is flawless in this role,and Christina Ricci gives a solid performance as well.Enjoy!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: With a beaten face, a beer belly, and a lot of make up
Charlize Theron might have pulled off the year's most
astonishing performance. Not only was her acting incredible
but generally speaking the movie was great. The way the
camrea angles were captured and lighting were magnificent.
I rate this movie 5 stars because that is the maximum i can
give. Well in the end go see it if you like dramas if not
see something like Hellboy coming soon...God that looks stupid

Rating:
Summary: Come On Aileen, tell the truth....
Review: Problems, problems, problems...if one were to know nothing of Aileen Wuornos and saw this R-rated Lifetime "movie of the week", they would feel sorry for her.

It starts out as she sits under a freeway overpass contemplating suicide, only to release herself from her demons to spend her final "earned" 40 dollars. These demons are the first problem.

She was abandoned by her mother, raped at an early age and had a bastard child in her early teens. She was a prostitute most of her life and she was in and out of jail on countless occasions for prostitution and armed robbery. She also had a history of public drunkeness followed by several assaults. Assaults that she made with her gun towards men. She had a failed marriage with an elderly man and suicide was also not a new thing to dwell in her thoughts. She tried on several occasions, even shooting herself in the stomach at one time. After all, fat, drunk, violent and stupid is, in fact, no way to go through life.

This was not a charming person.

If anyone were to look up her history, they would wonder how she even had the chance to commit murder as she should have been in jail long before her murder rap sheet.

I actually got angry when I read her past. I do feel that our court system is somewhat responsible for the murders she committed. And now this film is trying to sell her as a person she wasn't.

The movie actually plays her off as a drunk prostitute who was dealt a bad hand and could never catch a break. I do believe that the real Aileen was dealt a bad hand, but that doesn't mean she had to play the cards. There is nothing to feel sorry for here. And from frame one, that is exactly what the director went for. Pity.

I would have accepted this at first, but she (the director was a woman) tried to sell that pity all the way to the end of the film. Even the title of "Monster" is cheaply sold off as she describes a scary amusement park ride she was afraid of as a child.

I don't mean to sound male-chauvinistic by pointing out that the director was a woman, but let's face it... woman are more sympathetic towards human nature. I just think this particular woman should have done her homework.

I also feel that this director seems to have something against men. With the exception of one man, her film has a slew of dirtbags. Granted, men who fork out 20 bucks for a hummer probably aren't in best character themselves, but do they really deserve death. Let's pity the drunk woman sociopath over the perverts. I think not.

This story should not have started with a rape and a murder. This woman was a prostitute with a violent past. A past that the viewer knows nothing about.

Now, it's my understanding that the director took this story from Aileen's words herself. Why? A tad bit of research would clearly show that this person is unstable and will probably not tell the truth. This isn't the homework I was talking about. This is like turning in someone else's term paper and pawning it off as your own, hoping that they did the work correctly. I feel she got her term paper from the D student.

The thing that makes me most upset about this adaptation, is that it's floating around like a Indie film and yet it plays like Hollywood garbage. This should have been an intense character study, not a film in which Nancy McKeon could have starred in.

Charlise Theron was over the top and looked like Eric Stoltz in "Mask" (coincidently, another Lifetime movie...yeah, I know...boo, hiss). I like Charlise, but I really hope she doesn't win the award for this. As for Christina Ricci, she looked and acted like a little naive boy. I don't believe her character in real life was that, shall we say, "innocent". I did notice that they changed her name completely, and the movie plays out like it took place over a course of a few weeks, when in fact their relationship lasted over 4 years. Also, during those 4 years, there were several accounts of trashing apartments and barfights involving both individuals. In the film, Ricci's character seems to have been afraid of her own shadow and incapable of any violence whatsoever.

In closing, I actually gave this movie 3 stars because it is watchable and never boring.

After my review, I dropped it down to 2 stars, because movie's like this are starting to really irritate me. There was a hell of a story here, and yet the director opted for pity over substance (in which this film had none). I'll save my 3 star review for the remake of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"... you know, the other "based on true events" movie released this year.

It is really sad that a tag of "based on real events" can't live up to just that and let the average popcorn-slurping slob make up there own mind. Unfortunately, this director made up her own mind on exactly how she wanted us to feel before she made this movie.

Someone, at that time, should have taken the project away from her.