Monster
By Nicholas Pasquesi
This is a film based on the true story of Aileen Carol Wuornos, a prostitute who was sentenced to death by the state of Florida after killing seven men in the early 1980’s. Although probably biased, the story forces the audience to relate and actually sympathize for Wuornos and her decision to take justice into her own hands. Oscar winner Charlize Theron shocks the audience both with her appearance and her performance.
This film, primarily Charlize Theron, has received quite a bit of attention lately. For starters, Charlize has just recently won the Academy Award for best actress for her performance in this film. Rightfully so I should add. Apart from putting on a few pounds and withstanding hours in the makeup room in order for her to be transformed into an ugly beast, Theron portrayed Wuornos flawlessly. But even more astonishing is the fact that this movie is successful in getting the audience to muster up some sympathy for the serial killer. In fact, at the end of this film I was more convinced in my opposition to capital punishment than I was after seeing The Life of David Gale (another must see).
To be honest, I saw this film after reading many reviews about how great Charlize was in this movie. Specifically, how much she had to transform herself into this Wuornos person by shaving off her eyebrows, gaining weight, wearing dentures, and undergoing countless makeup maneuvers. I was really skeptical going into the theater. I was convinced that I would discover Theron was simply given a good makeover and that her character was just latching onto a special effect. I was definitely wrong.
The Essay on The Film, witness, shows the audience a clash of different cultures that come together briefly but cannot mix
It is clear that the clash of the Amish and mainstream American society cannot mix, as shown in the film Witness. Although the cultures meet out of necessity in the film, the relationship between John Book and Rachel Lapp doesn’t eventuate, Eli and Book disagree on their ideas of justice, and the lifestyles of the two different societies are often incompatible. (When Samuel is involved in the ...
Theron’s character (Wuronos) is very well developed. The film starts well in advance to the murders and provides the audience with sufficient background to ‘understand’ Wuronos’s life as a prostitute. The story initiates on the night she was planning to kill herself when she happens to run into a lonely and impassioned…(played by Christina Ricci).
The two instantly form a sort of chemistry and the story goes from there.
Like I mentioned before, Wuornos is a serial killer. However impartial it is, the scene of Wuronos getting violently raped in the front seat of a car is by far the most harrowing. In fact the other murders in this movie (the ones she committed) are significantly less graphic or not shown at all. Although I am completely aware that this may have been more of a cinematic gusto rather than an accurate account, it did stir emotions. I was left in the theater shocked that this woman was sentenced to death for what she had done after seeing what was done to her.
Monster is a fantastic film. It may be a tad depressing, but the characters and story are definitely worth the watch. And if that’s not enough there are at least two Journey songs on the soundtrack.
