MONSTER (2003)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Viewed on February 21st, 2004
killer hooker with a heart of coal. This is actually a portrait of human pain that manifests itself into human rage.
Based on a true story, Charlize Theron plays Aileen "Lee" Wuornos, an emotional wreck of a woman with deep emotional scars. She is a prostitute, as has been since 13. The first shot shows us a rain-drenched Lee sitting under a bridge, contemplating her next john or possibly suicide. She enters a bar where she meets the teenage Selby (Christina Ricci), and as they talk, they begin to
realize there is genuine love and understanding between them. Lee has had a sexually abusive past, and anyone that meets her treats her like trash (as indicated in the opening credits montage where Wuornos is shown in various stages of her life as someone who performs a sexual service for men driving by on the lonely road). The innocence of Selby indicates otherwise - she wants to
be close to Lee. They fall in love at a skating rink. Selby sneaks Lee in her house where she is staying with relatives - the last thing she needs is for her relatives to throw them out. Eventually, in true road movie fashion, they flee and stay in various dingy motels. Lee promises Selby that she will find a job
and take care of her. But Selby has no skills, and naively believes she could be a lawyer or a lawyer's secretary (at least she is ambitious). Meanwhile, Selby is starving when she should have gone back to home. So what can Lee do besides hooking? Nothing, which is why she sticks to hooking (though she has tried to go straight).
In that moment of realization, a moment unlike anything I have seen in a while
(a movie critic cliche, to be sure), Lee Wuornos becomes aware that her past has
come to haunt her - it has now fueled a rage she has long kept suppressed.
After getting viciously raped by one customer whom she kills, Lee starts
becoming trigger happy. Some men she kills, others she does not (impotence will
save your life, in one case). Lee takes their car, sometimes she will ditch the
stolen vehicle before washing it clean. Selby is at first stunned by Lee's
murderous habit but gradually she gets used to it, as if this is one way of
making a future for them.
In one of the most remarkable achievements in film acting, Charlize Theron
(usually a blond or brunette bombshell) gives a towering performance of amazing
intensity and sheer velocity. Theron portrays Lee as an unbridled dynamo that
can make you quiver with the shakes - she is chilling to watch and dominates
each and every scene of this film. What is more amazing is that Theron is
allowed to show the humanity of Lee Wournos, and that is what makes "Monster"
tower above any other film about one-dimensional serial killers. She is
emotional, but not frigidly emotional or cold-blooded (though some may see her
actions as the latter). Theron brings the heart and soul of Lee to the screen,
even if she has batty eyes that scream out terror (the real Wuornos had even
more piercing eyes). You may not want to run into Lee in an abandoned alley,
but she still conveys some warmth and some sense of love. But how can a raging
killer keep her love and rage separate?
Christina Ricci has the more difficult task, playing second fiddle to Theron's
cry of pain. Ricci's Selby has the naivete intact, unable to see the futility
of their relationship, especially when learning about Lee's serial murders.
What is Selby supposed to do? There is one great scene where Selby complains
that she needs a life and needs to have friends. She does, and at the local
lesbian bar, she mimics Lee's own mannerisms and stories of being turned down
for so many jobs. Selby clearly needs a role model, and Lee may not be the best
one.
"Monster" has been criticized for painting a portrait of a serial killer,
making us identify with the murderous appetite of a soulless person rather than
examining the victims. Perhaps such a film could be made someday. I still
wonder if anyone would ever make a film about the victims who suffered under
the murderous hands of Charles Manson and his Family. The truth is that
audiences are more intrinsically fascinated by murderers than by their victims.
Face the facts, murderers and their motives fascinate and compel us vividly -
the victims are always on the sidelines. Take a look at Court TV, slasher
films, horror films, etc. I agree with the above assertion by critics in
general, but not when it comes to this film. "Monster" does something rather
rare - it looks at a human monster and shows the humanity and the monster equally.
Every moment we see Lee on screen, she is either in pain or is coming close to
it. This is a tortured creature of society (though I wouldn't claim society
made her this way) - a deviant who never had a chance to be accepted as a human
being. Then she engages in a disreputable position, and then lets her violent
streak get the best of her. That such a film can examine her fear and pain, and
make us see her murderous rage explode, and then further still make us feel
something for her, is a worthy film in my book. First-time director Patty
Jenkins has made a stunning debut, using close-ups to her advantage. "Monster"
is difficult, complexly emotional and fraught with a raw, unnerving energy that
is truly compelling.
