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Entertainment

Monster Film Review by Ernest Barteldes

Monster , Directed by Patty Jenkins; Starring Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci, 2003 Much has been written about the transformation that waify South African actress Charlize Theron went through in order to portray the late serial killer Aileen Wournos in Monster. Not only did she actually pack 30 pounds by doing very little exercise while subjecting herself to a diet of Krispy Kremes and late dinners, but she also went through endless hours of make-up to give her patchy skin and damaged hair which, combined with bad prosthetic teeth left little of the Theron we knew from movies like The Devil's Advocate or Sweet November. Charlize Theron is up for a Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wournos But that wouldn't matter much if Theron hadn't given one of the most sincere, breathtaking performances I have seen in recent films. - which has earned her a well-deserved Golden Globe Award and (as of this writing) an Academy Award nomination. Early in the film, we see a homeless Aileen as she enters a Central Florida gay bar. There she meets Selby (Christina Ricci), a fragile, confused closeted lesbian youth who seems taken by Wournos' macho-like attitude, and despite a rough start they seem to get along and set up a date at a local skating rink the next night. It is in the moments before they meet that Theron is able to show us her character's softer side as preps herself for her date; she sprays her hair dons makeup and gives herself a sink "bath" before changing into an outfit she has been keeping in a nearby storage facility. But this film is not about softness. Shortly after we are witnesses as Aileen commits her first murder, shown as a case of self-defense. She is picked up by a disturbed-looking "client" who beats her, ties her up and abuses her. As he is about to kill her, she manages to free herself, and finding a revolver inside the car, turns and shoots her would-be assassin. Director Patty Jenkins with Charlize Theron on the set of Monster The scene is one of the strongest in the whole film. Once the man is dead, she lets out a piercing cry of angst, relief and disgust all put together. There is some guilt in her desperation, but also a lot of helplessness - it is then that we know that there is no turning back for her. Not that she doesn't try. For a brief moment, she attempts to quit the prostitution game and tries to land a regular job, but after being repeatedly turned away, she is forced back into the streets when she finds herself unable to support herself and the needy Selby, who has by now gone in "the road" with her. But by then Wournos is like a wounded animal; any sign of roughness from the men who pick her up is a compulsory death sentence. In one of those moments, a pathetic-looking, insecure individual (Pruitt Taylor Vince) is intimidated by Wournos, and that ends up saving his life. Instead of killing him, she takes his money in exchange for a hand job. Despite Theron's performance, there are several things that seem to be wrong with the film, but the most disturbing one is Christina Ricci's faulty acting. During the most dramatic lines, one cannot help but expect her to turn into the camera and scream that she's forgotten her lines. The only moment when she manages to be convincing is at the end of the film, when a cold-looking Selby (who was the one who turned Wournos in to the authorities) recognizes her from the witness stand during the trial. Another missing element in the film is that we learn very little from Wournos' background. What led her to become such a pathetic loser in the first place? Of course, we learn some of it from Theron's lines, but a few extra flash-back scenes (there are a few during the film's opening scenes) would have worked for the better here. But then again that might be director Patty Jenkins' intention in the first place. Maybe we don't need to know her history. What we need to see is that Wournos was a disturbed individual who was desperate to find happiness even if she had to kill to achieve it. None of political implications of Wournos' death sentence (she was executed in 2002) are played out in the film, but it is clear, at the end of the screening, that the Bush-style capital punishment policies are at least in dire need of revision. Monster is one of these films that are worth seeing for the quality of the acting alone (don't get me wrong, it is a good film), and Charlize Theron's nomination for Best Actress is deserved. Bruce Dern in Monster

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