Aileen ‘Lee’ Wuornos was a legendary Florida serial killer, whose reputation increased in profile when she became the second woman to be put to death in Florida since capital punishment was reintroduced in 1976. The focus of several books and movies, and even an opera, Wuornos is a disturbingly colourful figure, coarse, crude and saddled with a life story so tragic that it would have been a huge shock if she had turned out healthy and happy.
By all accounts, Wuornos was a miserable human being, and – as her seven confessed murders demonstrate – a monster. Yet every monster has a human story, and this film tells a compelling one. Charlize Theron delivers a remarkable performance, making a remarkably convincing transformation from beautiful Hollywood starlet into unattractive low-cost highway prostitute. And, while doing a fairly good job of sticking to actual history, writer/ director Patty Jenkins’ first feature also manages to make Wuornos sadly human, portraying her as a deeply troubled young woman with an awful past who tried to get her life together, but simply couldn’t do it.
Wuornos killed men who hired her as a prostitute. The film suggests that some of them were abusive; Wuornos claimed that all of them raped or abused her, or intended to do so. Either way, it’s an inhuman reaction to a brutal way of life.
Christina Ricci plays Lee’s young lover, Selby, a sweet but selfish and severely confused woman who becomes entangled with Lee, loving her while also encouraging her to keep working as a prostitute in order to make money. The Selby character further adds humanity to the film, as she seems so much like other confused young women that it’s easy to understand how she might get involved with someone like Lee.
The film traces Lee’s steps from before her first killing through until her ultimate sentence at the hands of the courts. It’s part sweet love story, part tragic tale of human decline, and part grisly murder drama. As a result, it’s exceedingly difficult to sit through – all the more so because Lee, while unpalatable in many ways – is portrayed as having redeeming qualities.
Theron is absolutely gripping, throwing herself fully into the part, and backing up her acting with makeup and prosthetics that make her appear entirely unlike the Theron we know from other films. She even put on weight, making for a body that is distinctly unlike that of a starlet. Ricci also does well; while her character isn’t as colourful as Theron’s, this is a challenging part – playing a young woman who is likeable yet selfish, innocent yet complicit at the same time.
While the film focuses in closely on the story of these two women, it also delivers kick-in-the-gut social commentary at the same time, taking forceful swipes at sexual abusers, corrupt cops, fundamentalist Christians, and a system that uses young women and then offers them little hope of ever getting out. There are diversions from actual historical events, but not many of them, as the true story is as compelling as any fiction could possibly hope to be.
Monster is not an enjoyable film. Only the least sensitive of viewers will get through it without feeling queasy or worse. But it provides insights into the human condition by focusing on one of our worst failures – a woman so abused by her society that she set out to destroy others, and did so with a disturbing degree of success. View this movie prepared, but definitely view it – for Theron’s incredible performance and its important – if difficult – subject matter.
View this movie prepared, but definitely view it – for Theron’s incredible performance and its important – if difficult – subject matter.- Brian Webster
