Barnes & Noble

One of 2003’s most remarkable movies, Monster is distinguished by Charlize Theron’s Oscar-winning performance. The glamorous Theron underwent an astounding metamorphosis to play Aileen Wuornos, the infamous Florida prostitute executed for the murders of seven men. She gained weight, made her hair stringy, took the cap off a chipped tooth, and added freckles to her face. More than the physical transformation, though, Theron dipped deep into her own psyche to come up with a characterization that made Wuornos -- by most accounts a pretty despicable human being -- not only understandable but sympathetic. The film revolves around Wuornos’s relationship with Selby Wall (played superbly by Christina Ricci), whom she meets one day in a seedy bar. The couple set up house, and Wuornos, forced by lack of money to keep working as a prostitute, releases her pent-up rage by robbing and killing her johns. It may be difficult to imagine such unsavory material making a fine movie, but first-time director Patty Jenkins pulled it off. She doesn’t rely on flashy camera moves or narrative trickery; in fact, much of Monster is shot in a straightforward, unobtrusive style that suggests the work of a documentary filmmaker. Clearly, the thrust of her creative input was shaping the performances of Theron and Ricci, and the outstanding results suggest that Jenkins could be a filmmaker of rare talent. Some viewers might find the subject matter off-putting, and indeed, Monster is pretty tough going at times. But it’s also incredibly compelling, and well worth seeing if only for Theron’s appropriately praised star turn. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Model-turned-actress Charlize Theron leaves her glamorous image behind for this gritty drama, in which she plays a disturbed prostitute who becomes a serial killer. Aileen Wuornos (Theron) was a woman who survived a brutal and abusive childhood in Michigan to become a thick-skinned but emotionally damaged adult. Homeless most of her life, Wuornos subsisted by working as a street prostitute; later, when she was in Florida, down to her last five dollars and pondering suicide, she stopped into a bar for a beer. There, Aileen met Selby Wall (Christina Ricci), a woman in her early twenties who had been sent to live with relatives after her Christian parents became aware of her lesbian lifestyle. Selby is immediately attracted to Aileen, and while Aileen tells Selby she's never been in a lesbian relationship, she soon finds herself equally infatuated with her. Selby runs away from her family and moves into a cheap hotel with Aileen, who initially pays the bills by hooking. However, as their money runs low and Aileen finds herself unable to land a regular job, tensions mount between the two. One night, after a john attacks her, Aileen pulls a gun and kills the man. Although her first murder can be categorized as self-defense, Aileen's loathing for the men who pay her for sex becomes so extreme that she begins killing her customers regardless of their behavior. Meanwhile, Selby slowly becomes aware of the full extent of her lover's instability and the bloody consequences of her actions. Monster was inspired by the true story of Aileen Wuornos, whose life and death was chronicled in two documentaries by filmmaker Nick Broomfield, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, and Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 687797202369
• Source: FIRST LOOK PICTURES
• Region Code: 1
• Time: 1:49:00
• Sales Rank: 17,077

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