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| Monster |
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  (9/10)
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Runtime: 110 |
| Public Rating: 7.83 (60 votes) |
Director: Patty Jenkins |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama |
Year: 2003 |
| Writer(s): Patty Jenkins |
| Distributor: New Market Films |
| Reviewed by: Oktay Ege Kozak |
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More than anything, “Monster” is a film about shattered dreams. The ones that began when we were children and the ones that keep on going as we grow up. “You have to believe in yourself and all your dreams will come true… Well, they have to tell you something”. In “Monster”, a film about a serial killer hooker and her lesbian girlfriend, Aileen Wuornos, the hooker, decides to quit her day job and tries to get regular work without references, experience or even a resume. “I always wanted to be the president of the United States” she says, and you get the feeling that she truly believes that can happen. But the realities of things are not that colorful. She walks in law offices and gets ridiculed. She even tries to become a lawyer simply because she has “people skills”. Then a cop recognizes her and she has to go back to her previous job to keep away from jail. It’s scenes like these that separate “Monster” from every other crappy made-for-TV drama about notorious serial killers.
Even though this is a film of brilliant writing and execution, I could not help but think about the absolute accuracy of the way things have really happened. There is no way to reach a form of absolute reality when it comes to a biopic, especially if it involves a lot of dead people, and in a case of trying to tell the true story of someone who’s already gone, the best you can hope for is to slap on that “Based on a true story” title card and hope for the best. My only small problem with the film is its overzealous ambition to emphasize the audience with Aileen who was, in the end, a serial killer.
It’s very understandable that Patty Jenkins wanted to explore the other side of one of her unfortunate gender-buddies who was a very easily hated person during the time she spent in court. But Patty tries every single way for the audience to see the lack of choice these burned-out women had to face in a harsh society. “People kill each other every day in the name of politics and religion, and they are heroes” Aileen laments in one of the central scenes and alas, we are right there with her. My only problem involves the car scenes where Aileen kills her customers. Now since the men in all those scenes are dead, Aileen was the only person who witnessed those events. I could not help but think whether or not the men in those scenes were that diabolical. In a way, you do believe that some of the repulsive things that happen in those scenes really can happen. You have no way of knowing if they really happened that way but all you can hope is for the scenes to work. And they do.
Acting/Characters: Charlize Theron’s performance is pretty much what makes the movie the great accomplishment it is. The second we gaze upon a close-up of her face, it is not hard to realize we are not in “Sweet November” planet anymore. As you might have seen in the trailers, it is almost impossible to recognize her with her freckled face and her overweight posture. Even with these physical traits, it’s getting easier these days with make-up and CGI to completely change the facet of a person. What lies beneath her major transformation is her bitter and powerful performance. It’s hard for me to let go of the love-of-my-life, the-most-beautiful-woman-on-earth but if she doesn’t get at least a nomination at the academy awards, I’m gonna get really pissed. Another great performance comes from Christina Ricci, who shows her ultimate vulnerable side as Aileen’s girlfriend Selby Wall. These two carry the two-character-based script up to incredible heights. Also, Bruce Dern is very believable as Thomas, the only positive male character and Pruitt Taylor Vince proves once again that he is one of the greatest actors alive by turning a role of two lines into a marvelous performance. Why this guy doesn’t get starring roles is beyond me (I know he starred in “Heavy” but we need more).
Directing: First time feature director Patty Jenkins pulls off a monstrous job with this gem. Her slick style of editing and playing with sound and her use of long shots during intense scenes add tremendously to the brilliantly constructed script (which was also written by her).
The Movie: Like “Monster’s Ball” (coincidence in name?) and “Boys don’t Cry” before it, “Monster” is going to become one of the most revered independent films of this decade. It not only tells a very involving and important story and puts Charlize Theron in a whole new light, it also proves the power of filmmaking. If we can look at a supposed serial killer in a whole new light, it means it succeeds wonderfully. Life is not just about Fox News people.
Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince…
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