Save your money...wait for the video
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2004 9:51 pm
Unless you're an absolute die-hard Charlize Theron or Christina Ricci fan, a student of the dramatics arts, a student of criminology, or a movie-theater popcorn aficionado, don't bother seeing "Monster" on the big screen if you have any desire to see it at all. There's nothing that visually spectacular about it that won't be apparent on your television screen.
There was already a made-for-TV movie called "Overkill: The Story of Aileen Wuornos" with Jean Smart. It touched on all three aspects of the investigation of the crime -- the killer, the victims, and the cops. "Monster" focuses solely on Wuornos, the killings, and her relationship with "Selby," which wasn't actually the name of the girlfriend and I don't get why they changed it. When Jean Smart ("Charlene" on "Designing Women") played Wuornos, she still looked like Charlene -- only with messier hair and less makeup. Theron kicks butt as Wuornos and it's SCARY how she does it! She totally deserved that Oscar. If you've ever seen old interviews with the real Aileen Wuornos, you would know how frighteningly similar Theron looks and acts like her -- facial expressions, mannerisms, voice, and that same annoying "toss" of her hair, which is hair-sprayed into a stiff, combed-back 'do most of the time so there's really nothing to toss.
Theron gained 30 pounds for the role but looks like she only gained it in her face. Wuornos wasn't really fat anyway. Ricci, on the other hand, only gained 10 pounds, but should have gained 100. I've seen the real-life "Selby" on documentaries (I think it's Tyria or Tyra something) and she's unattractive, overweight, and *shudder* obviously gay. Ricci is too cutesy, too petite, and too feminine to look like her, but she pulls off the role (although I had to giggle at one scene where she took off running and ran like a valley girl).
Obviously, I don't have to say anything about the plot because most people have some idea who Wuornos was and what she did. The movie tells it like it is. Be forewarned -- the language is harsh. There are plenty of occurences of the F word. However, I don't recall a single utterance of GD, which usually grates on my nerves so I would have remembered it. The most vulgar statement comes from one of the soon-to-be victims who is a "customer" of Wuornos when she's prostituting. He uses that P word and asks a question about it (something I wouldn't expect to hear outside of a stuff movie).
The scene with Wuornos and her first victim is one of the most graphic, not because of the killing, but because of what he does to her that provokes her to kill him. If she had only killed the first victim, she might have been able to prove self-defense (maybe). However, she continues to kill, mostly as a precursor to stealing money and a car from her victims. Her rationale is that they were married and shouldn't have been doing something with a prostitute anyway, so she was "punishing" them. Most of the other killings are brutal but not graphic.
And finally, there are three scenes of nudity and/or adult situations - one shadowy scene of the two kissing outside a skating rink, one scene where Ricci slides the sheet off Theron to reveal her breast and places her hand there (again, with well-shadowed kissing), and one scene where Theron stands naked in front of a mirror, covered in blood, after coming home from killing a victim. Thankfully, all of those scenes were nice and brief because I wasn't comfortable watching it at all. With the exception of the one mentioned above (which was mostly violent in nature), all the scenes with Wuornos and the "customers" were generally implied acts and nothing more (besides language).
Like I said before, the acting is superb and well-worth watching. Theron is absolutely incredible! But the subject is a bit disturbing -- and the title fits so well. If you want to see it, I'd advise you to wait for the video and prepare yourself for how shocking it could be.
There was already a made-for-TV movie called "Overkill: The Story of Aileen Wuornos" with Jean Smart. It touched on all three aspects of the investigation of the crime -- the killer, the victims, and the cops. "Monster" focuses solely on Wuornos, the killings, and her relationship with "Selby," which wasn't actually the name of the girlfriend and I don't get why they changed it. When Jean Smart ("Charlene" on "Designing Women") played Wuornos, she still looked like Charlene -- only with messier hair and less makeup. Theron kicks butt as Wuornos and it's SCARY how she does it! She totally deserved that Oscar. If you've ever seen old interviews with the real Aileen Wuornos, you would know how frighteningly similar Theron looks and acts like her -- facial expressions, mannerisms, voice, and that same annoying "toss" of her hair, which is hair-sprayed into a stiff, combed-back 'do most of the time so there's really nothing to toss.
Theron gained 30 pounds for the role but looks like she only gained it in her face. Wuornos wasn't really fat anyway. Ricci, on the other hand, only gained 10 pounds, but should have gained 100. I've seen the real-life "Selby" on documentaries (I think it's Tyria or Tyra something) and she's unattractive, overweight, and *shudder* obviously gay. Ricci is too cutesy, too petite, and too feminine to look like her, but she pulls off the role (although I had to giggle at one scene where she took off running and ran like a valley girl).
Obviously, I don't have to say anything about the plot because most people have some idea who Wuornos was and what she did. The movie tells it like it is. Be forewarned -- the language is harsh. There are plenty of occurences of the F word. However, I don't recall a single utterance of GD, which usually grates on my nerves so I would have remembered it. The most vulgar statement comes from one of the soon-to-be victims who is a "customer" of Wuornos when she's prostituting. He uses that P word and asks a question about it (something I wouldn't expect to hear outside of a stuff movie).
The scene with Wuornos and her first victim is one of the most graphic, not because of the killing, but because of what he does to her that provokes her to kill him. If she had only killed the first victim, she might have been able to prove self-defense (maybe). However, she continues to kill, mostly as a precursor to stealing money and a car from her victims. Her rationale is that they were married and shouldn't have been doing something with a prostitute anyway, so she was "punishing" them. Most of the other killings are brutal but not graphic.
And finally, there are three scenes of nudity and/or adult situations - one shadowy scene of the two kissing outside a skating rink, one scene where Ricci slides the sheet off Theron to reveal her breast and places her hand there (again, with well-shadowed kissing), and one scene where Theron stands naked in front of a mirror, covered in blood, after coming home from killing a victim. Thankfully, all of those scenes were nice and brief because I wasn't comfortable watching it at all. With the exception of the one mentioned above (which was mostly violent in nature), all the scenes with Wuornos and the "customers" were generally implied acts and nothing more (besides language).
Like I said before, the acting is superb and well-worth watching. Theron is absolutely incredible! But the subject is a bit disturbing -- and the title fits so well. If you want to see it, I'd advise you to wait for the video and prepare yourself for how shocking it could be.
