Monster

We can be as different as we wanna be, but you can't kill people! Monster is the bleak story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute and one of America's most notorious female serial killers. Based around facts of her life and death, the film primarily focuses on the last year of her freedom. Where after entering into a strange lesbian relationship with Selby Wall, Wuornos, fed up of being a abused by men, starts killing those calling on her services. Sad and potent is Patty Jenkins' first full length directorial effort. Though perhaps a touch guilty of pandering to Wuornos' own self created "monster" image, the film none the less has the right blend of sympathy and revulsion to make it a fascinating, if uneasy, experience. Former model Charlize Theron goes through a major transformation to become Wuornos, so much so she's practically unrecognisable. Bulked up in weight and with beaten down make up withering her face, Theron goes on to give a towering performance as the troubled, on the edge killer. Without any thrills or hints of histrionics, Theron is uncompromising throughout the picture. To garner empathy with such an abrasive character is quite a trick, then to switch to monstrosity with conviction seconds later? Well that's almost magical in itself. Theron is backed up well by Christina Ricci as Selby. Selby Wall, an immature young lady oblivious to the dark path she is walking down, is given a great portrayal from Ricci. In light of the powerhouse show from Theron, it's much credit to Ricci that she enhances the film with her own delicate characteristics. Helping to emphasise the strangeness of the union in the process. It's a tough film for sure, and come the final credits one is left with a feeling of sympathy towards Wuornos and the life she lived. If that be right or wrong is of course up to the individual viewer. Or if that was even Jenkins' intention is probably up for debate. But Monster exists and survives as a bitter character study of a desperate woman, which through the medium of cinema, makes us the viewers privy to something very edgy indeed. 7.5/10

Charlize Theron is really quite convincing as the down-at-heel Aileen Wuornos, a real life character who went from hooker to serial killer in late 1980s Florida in the United States. Her’s is a dangerous profession where she encounters some of life’s slime who may pay her with cash or with a beating. It’s after one particularly toxic encounter that she finds herself in a gay bar where she meets Selby (Christina Ricci). Initially very sceptical of her new friend’s motives, she quickly finds herself determined to raise her game and try to provide for both of them. That is when she realises that she can lure her sex-starved gents and then instead of satisfying their needs, she can put six bullets into them and walk off with their wallets. Now she is clearly a little psychotic but she’s not inherently evil - indeed she does occasionally take pity on her more pitiful marks. For the most part, though, she is ruthless and of course that attracts the Feds and also puts her already strained relationship with Selby at risk. History tells us just what happened to her, but even though there can be no excusing her vengeful retribution, Theron still manages to imbue this woman with a sense of tenacious decency. The real Wuornos had clearly been exposed to abusive deprivation since she was a teenager and had had to think on her feet as best she could throughout her life, and that is powerfully captured here with some solid writing and combative spirit from both women who have always had their battles to fight. It presents a potent look at the sleazy underbelly of a society where sex is a commodity and it’s clients little better than rutting animals, and at times the story is quite difficult to watch. The ending is a little overly compacted and rushed, but it’s convincingly gritty and human throughout.