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Monster
2003
Charlize Theron delivers a knockout, cast-against-type performance in this gritty drama, based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a down and out prostitute who was sentenced to death after killing six men between 1989 and 1990. Christina Ricci co-stars as Selby Wall, a lesbian runaway who forms a romantic bond with Wuornos. .. Read more
| Starring | Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson |
|---|---|
| Director | Patty Jenkins |
| Genres | Drama |
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Monster
Charlize Theron delivers a knockout, cast-against-type performance in this gritty drama, based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a down and out prostitute who was sentenced to death after killing six men between 1989 and 1990. Christina Ricci co-stars as Selby Wall, a lesbian runaway who forms a romantic bond with Wuornos. Inspired by her love (even though she is not gay, strictly speaking) Wuornos tries to get a real job, but after meeting with a string of humiliating failures, she returns to work as a hitchhiking hooker, killing her first victim in self-defence after he rapes and beats her. Eventually, robbing and murdering her clients becomes almost second nature and by the end Wuornos even slays a man who was totally innocent (Scott Wilson). Theron's portrayal of this dangerous yet sympathetic character ranks with some of the greatest performances in cinema. Under heavy makeup, extra weight, and a snarling countenance, she proves herself a fearless, formidable talent, completely unrecognizable from the glamorous beauty of such films as THE ITALIAN JOB (2003) and THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE (1997). First-time director Jenkins proves herself with this fluid and engrossing work, capturing a lot of sordid detail that other movies exploring this milieu might miss; she also wrote the script, based on actual conversations and prison letters from Wuornos. The moody, paranoia-enhancing soundtrack is by electronica maestro BT.
| Starring | Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Lee Tergesen, Annie Corley |
|---|---|
| Director | Patty Jenkins |
| Studio | DEJ PRODUCTIONS |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 44 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 Feisty Females |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 30 Jul 2004 Production year: 2003 |
| Format | DVD |
Monster (2003)
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Critics' reviews (6)
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More an intense portrait of doomed romance than a serial-killer thriller, writer/director Patty Jenkins's brutal biopic of prostitute turned multiple murderer Aileen Wuornos burrows deep into the woman's psyche with the help of an Oscar-winning turn from Charlize Theron. While her physical transformation may have caught the Academy's eye, Theron's performance goes beyond the weight-gain and dental prosthetics, finding both compassion and coldness in Wuornos's descent into homicidal mania. Aileen's first kill is in self-defence, escaping from a “client”, but the impulse soon escalates into murder as she fights both to survive and to protect her burgeoning relationship with the naive outcast lesbian Selby (a superbly understated Christina Ricci). In other hands, this could have become overwrought melodrama, but Jenkins skilfully mines the humanity within the sensationalism to come up with something that is both tender and chilling — and ultimately heartbreaking.
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By her own confession, Aileen Wuornos murdered six men in the years 1989 and 1990 - all in self-defence, she claimed.... read more on Time Out
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Most helpful member's review
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49 out of 56 people found this review helpful
An Incredible Performance
When the Media has the nagging necessity to label all its serial killers, it is refreshing to find a filmmaker who dares and more importantly cares to go beyond the crimes of Aileen Wuornos, labelled America?s first female serial killer, and show the audience what drove Aileen to kill. Monster, starring Oscar-winning Charlize Theron and written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Patty Jenkins, is at its base a love story and an intriguing background of Aileen Wuornos ? her doomed life and her need to be loved. Using some of Aileen?s letters to a childhood friend while she was in prison and direct interview with Aileen herself, Jenkins presents us a near enough objective view of Aileen, without ever falling into sentimentality. It is a moving piece of filmmaking non-the-less. Monster proves to be a true work of passion and heart. Jenkins and Theron worked hand in hand both in a director-actor relation but also on a director-producer level (this is Theron?s first role as producer). You can feel the energy that went into making Monster. One of the rare films that deserves all its praise.
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Uncomfortable
This is a well-made and sympathetic story of the life of Aileen Wuornos. It features a devastating central performance from Charlize Theron, who not only captures the look, but the anger and intelligence of the serial killer. And yet..anyone who has seen the two documentaries by Nick Broomfield will find this film uncomfortable viewing. In the first documentary it is discovered that some of the police were trying to sell their stories to Hollywood immediately after her arrest, way before any trial. By the end of the second documentary, she has clearly gone insane yet she is still executed ? for political ends ? even though it is illegal under Texan law to do this. Her whole life was one of exploitation and the final irony is that a beautiful, privileged Hollywood starlet ?uglied-down? to gain Oscar recognition.
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News and features
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Theron fan bids almost £100,000 for charity kiss
- 24 Oct 2009
Charlize Theron puckered up to kiss a woman on Thursday night (22Oct09) - and raised £93,300 in the process. The actress, who romanced Christina Ricci in Monster, helped take over hosting duties at the OneXOne charity event in San Francisco, California after Matt Damon pulled out at the last minute - and she made the evening's auction a memorable one for one female fan. Offering up a 2010 trip to her native South Africa that included World Cup soccer tickets and a meet-and-greet with... Read more
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