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Review by Steve Rhodes
3 stars out of 4
Charlize Theron's great performance saves MONSTER, which suffers from a
mediocre script, aimless direction and a lackluster supporting cast. Bruce
Dern's cameo is the only decent performance besides Theron's, who is like a
star quarterback having the best game ever while playing behind a lazy line
that has trouble throwing an effective block. But when you're watching one of
the best performances of the year -- just give Theron the Oscar now and save
the effort of voting -- you won't care that the rest of the movie has
problems.
Based on the true story about the now executed prostitute and serial killer,
Aileen Wuornos, the movie is unflinching in its portrayal of Aileen and her
crimes. Charlize Theron plays Aileen, but, if I didn't tell you this, you'd
never figure it out. The glamorous Theron, famous for such sexy parts as the
recent THE ITALIAN JOB, looks completely different. With splotchy skin, uneven
and oversized teeth, straw-like hair, and a beer belly, Theron looks so awful
that she gives white trash a bad name. A nervous, fidgety, angry and
explosively violent character, Aileen -- or so the story claims -- starts off
her murder spree after being raped and beaten. A hooker since she was
thirteen, she gives up the life of a whore for that of a murderer in order to
support her newfound girlfriend, Selby Wall, played lamely and unbelievably by
Christina Ricci.
"I'm good with the Lord," a trembling Aileen tells Selby while pointing to
heaven after Selby asks about the killings. Aileen feels that her actions are
justified even though one of the men she murders wasn't a John at all but a
Good Samaritan who just offered her help.
The performance by Theron is such a tour de force that you'll soon find
yourself ignoring the plot and the unconvincing actors who play the victims.
Rarely has an actor been given such an opportunity to play so far against type
and rarely has she succeeded so well.
MONSTER runs too long at 1:51. It is rated R for "strong violence and sexual
content, and for pervasive language" and would be acceptable for older
teenagers.
Copyright © 2003 Steve Rhodes
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