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Movie Reviews: Monster (2003)

[ 4 / 10 ] "Monster" is the story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute and serial killer, convicted and eventually executed in Florida in the 1980s. Her story is a chilling reminder of how the hopefulness of youth and the dreams of a better future can often go horribly wrong. The movie begins with a brief monologue about Aileen's childhood, how she dreamed of being rich and famous. But a quick cut from the bright, beautiful girl to the adult Wuornos shows that life has not been kind to her. She is worn by age, and at the start of the film, holds a gun in her hand as she contemplates suicide...

She enters a nearby bar to have a last drink and meets a young lady named Selby, which is where her luck starts to turn around. The two women hit it off after an awkward beginning, and form the start of a budding relationship. But it's not that easy for Aileen, who has never had anything come easy to her - she has scraped through life as a hooker, and is currently broke. The film follows the two characters as they struggle to make a new beginning for themselves together. But Aileen cannot escape her past, and she finds herself doing horrible things in order to secure a future for her and Selby. As Wuornos herself says in the film, eventually your past catches up with you...

The centerpiece of this film is Charlize Theron as Wuornos, and what a tremendous job she does. The best actors can seemlessly take on a role and execute it with such perfection that, at some point in the film, you forget that you're watching an actor. With the help of some excellent make-up work, the radiant Theron is skilfully transformed into the hardened, washed-up prostitute. The rest of the transformation is provided by Theron's incredible display of acting prowess. Who knew that she had such a performance in her? She captures the essence of Aileen Wuornos perfectly - bitterness towards the world for her bad circumstances, hatred toward men for their awful treatment of her, and a disregard for rules or any other facet of the status quo. Her anger is real, not over-the-top, and you can sense her joy when she experiences her first good friendship in a long time. It's not easy to portray the progression of a woman from suicidal loser to sociopathic serial-killer, yet Charlize Theron does it masterfully.

The movie rests on her shoulders, and she carries it admirably, but unfortunately the only redeeming factor of the film is to appreciate the job that she does. There are very few characters, with the film being dominated by Selby and Aileen. Selby's character is difficult to understand, and the writers don't allow her to become a well-developed character so that we can identify with her. For the most part she seems to be there just to build Aileen's character, while Selby plays second fiddle. The ending is not particularly satisfying, and frankly, I didn't even find the basic storyline to be that engaging. I only found myself intrigued by Theron's portrayal of this troubled woman.

But a single performance does not a movie make. Theron surely deserved her Oscar win - but the movie doesn't earn high marks from me. It seems like this might be a growing trend with the Academy, awarding Oscars to actors who play difficult roles in substandard movies. Halle Berry's win for "Monster's Ball" comes to mind immedately (hmm, note the use of Monster in the title there as well). The film merits recognition as perhaps showcasing the best acting performance of the year. But ultimately the movie falls flat due to its shallowness and one-dimensionality.