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Monster review
2004.03.01 — Entertainment | Movies | Movie Reviews | by Andrew Cole
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Charlize Theron is murderer Aileen Wuornos. [official site] |
Monster paints a disturbing portrait of a desperate woman with no moral compass. It is to her credit that we believe in Charlize Theron's portrayal of real-life killer Aileen Wuornos completely, frightingly, even sadly. Her transformation is well-known—the added weight, the spotty makeup, the dental prosthesis that shifts her jawline from heavenly to homely—but it's the cold stare and masculine mannerisms that make the character.
The film is written brilliantly by Patti Jenkins and also directed by her, tho in rather workmanlike fashion. But Jenkins is just warming up, I suspect. It would be unfortunate if she became trapped in "women's films" and "victims' films" (altho Aileen Wuornos is no victim); regardless, Monster will be tough to top.
Christina Ricci is cast in the thankless role of Selby, Aileen's only real friend. She is a desperate woman herself, but more sympathetic for being misled by Aileen and estranged from her family. Selby is a conflicted lesbian, who hooks up with Aileen in hopes of finding freedom in coming out of the closet. But Aileen isn't actually gay; she just knows no other life than using people and being used. For her, even murder is just another unfortunate consequence of trying to make ends meet.
The interplay between Aileen and Selby (who is a composite of multiple real-life people in Aileen's life) is masterful. They are both terribly needy and have limited prospects and talents. Selby's broken arm makes it difficult for her to get a job, so she expects Aileen to support them both, at least for the time being. She knows that Aileen is trying to go straight and stop hooking, but stops caring after a while and just wants to try to enjoy being someone new. She feels used, partly because Aileen is reluctant to sleep with her, and partly because she fears that her family was right in that Aileen is just a piece of trash trying to take advantage of her (how isn't clear; they obviously can't ask Selby's family for money).
...Aileen does not fit the classical description of a serial killer. ...she doesn't kill out of any sexual impulse or with any pleasure... |
Their problem (well, one of them) is that Aileen has had trouble hooking after she was raped and nearly murdered early in the story. I found it interesting that Aileen does not fit the classical description of a serial killer. Aside from being female, she doesn't kill out of any sexual impulse or with any pleasure; she kills to avoid having sex with the john and to get the most money she can out of them.
She deludes herself into thinking that the men are rapists, child molesters, or at least casual adulterers, but the story is surprisingly lenient on the johns she meets; nearly all of them seem to be just decent guys, albeit with serious problems.
Bruce Dern does an easygoing turn as one of Aileen's few friendly acquaintences. He is one of the few people who doesn't judge her and doesn't want anything from her. These two things—nice guy Dern and the regular guy johns—make any accusations of man-hating pointed at the movie ridiculous.
Others accuse the film of turning Aileen into a victim, but writer/director Jenkins doesn't use Aileen's past or present to draw out much sympathy from her audience. She merely asks us to see this monster, this miserable failure of a human being, as a human being nonetheless, but one who should be held responsible for her actions like any other. And by the time we get to the conclusion, we—and Selby, and Aileen herself—are ready for it. This the kind of movie, like Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy, where nobody wins.
f e e d b a c k
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