Monster (2003) User Reviews (637)

How can you show any humanity if nobody has ever shown you any?

[AlsExGal · 8/10 · 17 February 2015]

This film starts just as homeless prostitute Aileen Wuornos is going to kill herself with a gun she ironically keeps for protection, but first she wants to buy a drink with the few dollars she has left in her pockets because she doesn't want anybody to get for free what she worked so hard to get. So she goes down the hill to a gay bar to get her last drink where she meets Selby. Selby is sexually attracted to Aileen, who at first gives her a fierce rebuff. But then Selby tells her a little about her story - how her family is trying to "reform her" from being gay - and Aileen accepts at least some friendship from her, and changes her mind about suicide.

The friendship grows to mutual sexual attraction, and Aileen and Selby run off and move into a motel. Aileen intends to go straight, dresses up for interviews, and gets turned down by everyone. Selby's affection turns to impatience and ultimately angry manipulation as she uses Aileen's attachment to her to get her to go back into prostitution so that they can go out and have a good time. Aileen ultimately gives in, and that's when she meets up with convicted rapist Richard Mallory, whom she claimed to kill in self defense. That is the scenario the movie shows. From that point forward something in Aileen just snaps and she sees every john as a rapist worthy of death, even the ones she had to cajole into accepting her services using sob stories of fictitious hungry children.

The movie is grim and if you read the headlines at all during the late 80s and early 90s you know the story, but just let me say that for once the Academy got it right by giving Charlize Theron Best Actress Oscar. If you've ever seen the actual Aileen Wuornos captured on film, somehow the beautiful Theron got her down even to the wild look she'd get in her eyes - the look of an animal caged.

The movie didn't go too much into the real Aileen Wuornos' past, but all I can say is that she never had a chance given what I read. Born to a teenage girl and a schizophrenic criminal father, abandoned to be raised by grandparents who didn't want to be burdened with her or her brother, and then thrown out of the house by her grandfather after her grandmother's death when she was 15, nobody ever treated her like a human being. I'd like to think the title of this film - Monster - is the ultimate in sarcasm, because what else could Aileeen Wuornos ever have become but a monster given that all she had ever known from other human beings was monstrous treatment.

Highly recommended but very depressing.

Lying Down With Dogs.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 18 December 2004]

An intense, depressing movie. It sticks pretty close to the facts but focuses chiefly on the relationship between Charlize Theron as Lee and Christina Ricci as Selby. The police are hardly there at all. In fact, neither is anyone else except for Bruce Dern who makes one or two short but welcome appearances.

It could easily have been a by-the-numbers TV movie. (Come to think of it, it has, hasn't it? With Jean Smart?) But the production values are good, and the time and money has been spent on this film that we usually associate with feature films.

The cinematography is outstanding. The shots of Lee near the end of her rope, hitching on a foggy blue nightime Florida highway look like a desktop theme from some arty horror/occult site. The script doesn't have many tag lines. No "Rosebuds" or "I coulda been a contendah." Nor is it folksy or catching in some other way. The dialogue follows the story in being pretty straightforward and without much in the way of noticeable touches. The director should be commended on her handling of two things. One is the explanation for Lee's crimes. None is given. There is a short scene in which Lee tells one of her johns about her miserable childhood, but the abuse excuse is vitiated by Selby's mother, an orthodox and unimaginative woman, who says simply that lots of people have hard childhoods without growing up like Lee. And the men are not all turned into sadistic hogs, which must have been a temptation for the writers. The second virtue in the direction is its management of the murders. Instead of exploding heads, there are a few squibs, and usually not even that, before the victim yields to the fathomless, cool, enwinding arms of death. The themes explored here are not so much violence as love and desperation.

Ricci looks the part, with her broad forehead and tiny lips, but comes across more as a Valley Girl than the kind of outcast who would pick up and move off with someone like Lee.

Which brings us to Theron's performance as Lee. It's startling, of course, to see a glamor-puss like Theron so thoroughly deglamorized. It's the kind of performance that wins Academy Awards -- lesbians, the height-challenged, autistics, all have won awards in recent years. Theron deserves recognition for her effort too, but not just because of the makeup and wardrobe. They're all splendid. Makeup has shaved her brows to a Mona Lisa extent and turned her face just blotchy enough and given her a raggedy set of teeth.

But that's not all that has made her performance as the central character so memorable. (She's in almost every frame.) And it isn't the thirty or so pounds that she put on for the role either. What's so homeric about that? I can put on thirty pounds without blinking an eye, and enjoy doing it. Heck, I can put on forty or fifty if she wants to get into a peeing contest. No -- it's Theron herself who MAKES the character. She's great, particularly in her physical manifestation of Lee -- her body language, for instance. Instead of coasting through the role, she animates it. The way she struts around with her shoulders thrown back and her face down, emphasizing her several chins and the girth of her neck. Maybe it takes a profession ballerina to figure out these little techniques. Her voice isn't as coarse as that of a hooker who constantly puffs on cigarettes, but Theron does what she can with her own. She overcomes her native South African speech with no trouble and introduces us to a breathless bravado that she's never used on screen before -- not that I know of.

Her movements, her speech, her dreams, are filled with a desperate illusion that doesn't exactly make us feel sorry for her but does make us worry for her -- that she might, for instance, start screaming at any minute and never stop. A nerve-racking picture of a ruined soul.

Is it worth seeing? Absolutely. You won't learn too much about how Aileen Wournos turned into the person she did. Even the narrative itself is a little confusing at time, so that you can't be sure where Lee and Selby are at given moments. But it's Hollywood professionalism at one of its rare high points. It's made by a mature team for an audience of adults. Refreshing.

About as bleak and depressing as they get, but in no way a bad movie

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 8/10 · 17 April 2005]

After just seeing this film, I'm pretty much speechless. This is a tough film to comment on. This is mainly due to the fact that it's a serial killer film where you actually end up feeling sympathy for the killer. Near the end of the film, when it goes completely out of control for Aileen Wuornos, there's no feeling of "justice is done once again"... quite the contrary, actually. It's so moving and disturbing, following this person's life, through the last part of it. In the beginning, we get a fairy tale-like presentation of Aileen's hopes and dreams in her young years. Without warning, we're thrust into the hard reality of her current years, immediately afterward. From there on out, we're in her world, feeling her pain, experiencing her failures. We get to know her as the film goes on, but we feel for her from the very beginning, without even knowing why she is like she is. That says something about the masterful direction and writing of Patty Jenkins that is featured in this film. The plot is great, and it's surprisingly easy to follow the thought process of Aileen... we understand why she kills. The pacing is very good, there are only few scenes that seem to move slow, and I don't think there was really any point where I was bored. The locations is incredibly authentic. Jenkins actually went out of her way to get shooting done at several places where the real Aileen had been, and even cast people who had met her in smaller roles. Cinematography is great. Acting is pretty much flawless; both Theron and Ricci shine in their roles. The movie also has a unpleasant view of prejudice from the 'other side'(the people who become victims to prejudice), and hopefully this will act as a much needed wakeup call for the people who believe in and go by prejudice. What really makes this film have an impact is how dark and real it is. No happy ending, no silver lining... just tough, uncut reality. When you see it, you can't help getting engulfed in this person's world. The raw horror of her life moves you. I can't see anyone, no matter ignorance, beliefs or moral and ethic standpoint coming out after seeing this film and believing that Eileen was the 'bad guy' in this story. It's just not possible. I haven't seen any of the interviews with the real Aileen Wuornos and I didn't follow her case, but I would like to know more about her, find out what she was like to a greater extent than a movie of 1 hour and 45 minutes can tell me. That's what this movie did to me. It made me care for this person, and that says more than anything I can put in this review. You need to see this film, unless you refuse to watch anything that has harsh reality instead of a happy ending. I recommend this to anyone who can take it. This movie will depress most people, but after this one viewing, I consider it required viewing for just about anyone. 8/10

Black day for Hollywood if she doesn't win the Oscar

[sloanepeterson · 17 February 2004]

Charlize Theron's performance in this movie was so incredible I felt compelled to shout about it to every single person I know. I was so blown away by her that her performance actually reignited my own passion for acting and made me realize why I'm trying so hard to break into this business and to do it well. I never thought that Charlize Theron (of whom I was never a big fan) of all people could make me remember what movie-making is all about. With one role, she's converted me into a life-long fan. If Oscar means anything anymore, she deserves that award, hands-down. The movie itself is one of the most gripping and emotional stories I've ever seen in a film, and, true or not, its right up there with the other great indies depicting the sorry lives of Middle-Americans, such as Boys Don't Cry and, ironically, Monster's Ball. I wept straight through the last twenty minutes of this movie, continued weeping intermittently throughout the day, and wept some more about it during my preparation for acting class the following day. Before I saw the film, I saw Charlize on The Daily Show, talking to John Stewart about how Aileen Wuornos' story (and I'm paraphrasing) forces one to re-examine how we might label someone "evil" for doing horrible things. I thought, that's just a bunch of liberal bulls**t. Then I saw the movie. Like I said, we can't know how much of the movie is one-hundred percent factual, but it's almost scary how little that mattered to me after I left the theater. This film moved me so much that I actually decided then and there that I would, that I would have to, think a little harder the next time I thought of someone as "evil". If the goal of the filmmakers was to just try to get people to think about the fairness of the death penalty, I believe they succeeded.

Decent but Historically Inaccurate

[wingematthew · 6/10 · 6 March 2019]

I enjoyed the story that this movie had to offer, but it was not even close to the true events behind Aileen Wuornos. It's very romanticized, which makes a beautiful and tragic story, but if you're looking for the real history behind the infamous serial killer prostitute, I'd recommend a documentary.

I knew Aileen.

[piXelpiXelpiXel · 10/10 · 11 November 2006]

Why would someone want to be comment number 458? Because it might mean something to somebody. This movie meant a lot to me.

I spent about four hours, sole-to-sole, in the back of a pickup truck hitch hiking with her and a friend of mine in Florida. This was before she had killed anybody, I believe.

Years later, I saw the "wanted" drawing. It sort of rang a bell, but a lot of usual suspects look like that, don't they? What are the chances? Then, they caught her and showed the first photo, then gave both the nickname (like a cousin), and the real name (like another cousin, only spelled in Irish.) At the time, she mentioned the spelling with an "A." I asked her if she was Irish and told her about my two cousins. What a small world, right? She either told me her last name and I assumed it, or told me she was Greek. The point being, the whole name aspect was the first part of a four hour life story discussion we had. And you don't forget four hours of a face like that either. The life stories matched. It was her.

The mood swings Charlize Theron portrays are perfect, as are the mannerisms, body language, clothes, teeth, complexion, hair, the body fat, manner of speaking, that strutting walk and just everything. It was absolutely uncanny. You never forget someone like that, and then when they pop up alive like that again. It was just unreal.

She was mood swinging, or perhaps "cycling," the whole time I was with her. I imagine if that was portrayed realistically, the movie would be unwatchable. I remember thinking at the time, her behavior seemed like the popular portrayal of those "possessed."

After I saw Monster more than twenty years later, I called the other guy that was with me. We have remained friends over the years. I told him "Oscar this, Oscar that," blah blah blah, just out of the shock of reliving the experience of Aileen again. The fact that she was played by the glamorous, beautiful, Charlize Theron on top of it, was beyond all comprehension. What a transformation! Of course, my beloved, goof-ball buddy was sitting beside her sleeping most of the time in the truck. His head kept on falling on her shoulder and she would push it off. It was like Three Stooges. They shared the Doritos like it was the school cafeteria or something. Can you imagine, in hindsight? Yes, it is good for a few jokes, I admit it. She hadn't killed anyone yet, so far as I can tell from reading about her and piecing the time-line back together. This was the first and only time I had been in Florida in those college-age days, so putting that together was fairly easy.

I don't know if I ever met anyone, before or since, that I have felt more sympathy for at the time. She was very talkative, about herself and the hard times she'd had. She was believable. She wasn't scamming us or anything, as I first suspected, just shooting the breeze. I wanted to cry for her. I think I even did so later, in hindsight. She was unreal. She had, what I thought, were "multiple personalities." Really just two, she would laugh one second, cry the next. She was like a big, tough hard-ass girl of eight years. She told me all about her childhood abuse, the horror of being a prostitute, and taking beatings and abuse from the men. She mentioned living in hotels. She didn't seem like too much of a drinker or a druggie. I just thought she was deeply, emotionally disturbed. In those days, we should have said "mental." My friend and I were a couple of happy middle-class college snowbird guys on Christmas break. She had about the worst kind of life of anyone I had ever met. She was only about four or five years older than us, but looked twice her age. When I thought later about the hand she was dealt, compared to mine, you better believe the religious feelings and tears well up. They still do. I can't bear to watch the movie sometimes, or at least parts of it.

Yes, what she did was wrong, if not evil. I don't think she was evil though, at all. She had the innocence lost, naive but semi-funny sweetness portrayed in the movie. I don't usually contemplate these things, its just that you could see there was a good person there, just profoundly _____ed up. For some reason, I was proud of her when she wanted the execution. She was nothing if not honest. As an outside observer, I don't know how you feel sorry for someone like that, but if you knew what happened, you just might. I have no agenda in that regard. Watch this and ask yourself if monsters are made, or are they born? This movie captures my feelings perfectly. If you have read this far, you can see the conflict. The movie reflects that so well, I can not do it justice by praising it with words.

If you were a victim of her actions, I wouldn't blame you for hating what I'm writing. If I read something like this about Charlie Manson, I'd never believe it.

I just want to thank everyone involved in telling this bizarre story.

I would advise people to see this if they want to be challenged, not just entertained. I've read some of the headlines on the index. So should you.

Theron's Performance Makes It Worth A Look

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 11 January 2006]

This was not an easy movie to like but I was so enthralled at Charlize Theron's makeover and performance that it took center stage over the story.

Theron's physical transformation from the incredibly beautiful woman she is to hard-and-rough looking serial killer Aileen Wournos was just amazing. More than that, I appreciated her effort here, not just with all the makeup but all the mannerisms, the way she walked, moved her head, speech inflection....everything. She was worth the price of the film and I felt the same way after the second viewing months later.

The story is a sordid one, filled with a lot of f-words, so be ready for that if you haven't seen it and wondered about the language. It's very rough. It also includes a lesbian relationship between the two main characters, a relationship I have yet to find that anyone found appealing, frankly.

I may not be able to recommend the movie for its story but if you want to see an actress really step out of her element and give a great performance, check it out. My guess is that you'll either really like this film or hate it.

Gripping but incredibly depressing

[preppy-3 · 9/10 · 14 February 2004]

Based on a true story this movie is about Ailen Wuornos, a prostitute, who killed quite a few men who she "serviced". She was convicted in 1990 and executed in 2002.

She's played by Charlize Theron who's just incredible. It starts off just before she began murdering men and has met Selby (Christina Ricci), an adorable lesbian who loves her. It basically chronicles their relationship and what led Wuornos to kill these men. Also she reaccounts her childhood and how she became a prostitute. It's more than a little depressing--it's a tragic story of a beaten woman who saw murder as the only way out. Only three murders are shown and that's more than enough. The violence is not glorified--it's bloody and sick and one is the most harrowing thing I've seen in years. What's so fascinating (and scary) about this film is that I actually began to sympathize with Wuornos! While I could never condone her actions you can see clearly what led her to it. This is a rare film--it makes a serial killer look sympathetic.

Theron is a wonder in this--she became Wuornos (who was very unattractive). She gained weight, shaved off her eyebrows, colored her hair, used contacts and dentures to change her appearance completely. Never once did I think I was seeing Theron acting--she BECAME Wuornos. A great performance--she'll easily get the Oscar for this one. Ricci is also good here. She's been ignored in the press but she nicely underplays the role of Selby and is a perfect contrast to Theron's acting. Also nice to see Bruce Dern in a small role.

Music is used very effectively here. They play songs of the time it took place (1980s) so you know when this is happening and also nicely complements the actions on screen (especially with Journey's "Don't Stop Believing").

A very good movie but a very depressing one. Proceed at your own risk.

MONSTER : The Film Is The Performance, & Theron Is Brilliant

[cwrdlylyn · 7/10 · 13 August 2006]

MONSTER Watching this film proves that, despite the boredom and predictability of the Best Actress race in '04, Charlize Theron is one of the most deserving Oscar winners in recent years. It's amazing how such an average film holds up so beautifully in repeat viewings solely on the shoulders of Theron's unbelievable performance as Aileen Wournos in MONSTER.

MONSTER tells the story of Wournos, a homeless street-walking loner with a grim outlook on life. Although her rage doesn't manifest itself to murder till later in the film, it is clear that Wournos' ability to live in a world with men is shaky. She holds loathing and hatred towards the men that belittled her as a child, and instead of removing herself from those situations... she has chosen to live a life where her survival depends on men's carnal desires. However, after finding happiness in a relationship with a young girl named Selby (played by Chrisina Ricci), that rage that has been simmering deep down unleashes itself in a murdering frenzy as Aileen becomes one America's first female serial killers.

Virtually all of MONSTER's acclaim was focused on Charlize Theron and her startlingly good performance. And though it was certainly warranted... it should also be noted that MONSTER is a solid effort on it's own as well. It's a simple film told from a rather simple point of view. However, by remaining simple first time feature-director Patty Jenkins manages to keep the film well balanced. MONSTER never takes sides on the issue of violence, it is clear that Wournos is not justified to do what she does... but it is also clear that is not entirely her fault the her emotional state ever got to the place it was. If the film had taken sides, it would have been far less gripping. Thankfully Jenkins, with the help of Theron, manages to make this film an accurate portrait of this woman's life.

Aside from Theron, the only other performance that registers in the film is that of Christina Ricci. Her's is a polarizing performance, because it's hard to tell whether the incredibly annoying aspects of her character come from Ricci's acting, or Selby's personality. Personally, I think it's a little bit of both. Nonetheless, Ricci's performance works in the context of the film... and Theron obviously has no difficulty playing opposite her.

Though MONSTER is an solid film, it's clear it would have been nothing without the conviction of Charlize Theron in the leading role. Much flack has been given to the Best Actress category in recent years for being too quick to award any Hollywood actress who "de-glams". However, I think such a generalized criticism is unfair because it slightly taints Charlize Theron's win. Yes, she "de-glammed" and got fat... but even without that, her performance is one of the most emotionally hypnotizing female performances I've seen in years. This film IS her performance, and she's brilliant here.

... B- ...

Brilliant film; extraordinary, moving performance

[sunangel2005 · 10/10 · 13 October 2004]

I just saw again Monster, followed by Nick Broomfield's gripping documentary on Aileen Wuornos, and what a brilliant film it is. It sort of reminded me of the kind of movies they used to make in the '70s, where the characters were really the center and they weren't trapped by formulas or by the self-indulgency of the director or the actors. The characters aren't judged, but they're shown with their humanity. With empathy. The result is not your usual indie movie that tries to be hip, or a sugar-coated version of this tragic story with an answer for everything and a nice confortable message in the end, but a truly moving and absorbing film that focuses on the people whose story is telling. At the core there's the amazing performance from Charlize Theron, who's deserving of all the praises and the awards she got. Her work is powerful, subtle, moving and layered. It's incredible to watch Broomfield's documentary, after seeing the film. Sometimes it really seems like watching the same person. It's not only that she recreated her mannerism, which she did perfectly, she's also, somehow, got her energy, as a person. She got to the emotional reasons as to why Aileen's mannerism was like that. In short: an extraordinary performance and a powerful film.

Charlize Theron's big performance

[Luigi Di Pilla · 6/10 · 23 October 2004]

Charlize Theron did here a great job and it was no question worth an Oscar. Every scene was well studied and executed and this true story came to a dramatic showdown. This movie could be very helpful for many prostitutes showing them the possible dangers of their job. It's a must see for Charlize Theron's big performance but also for Christina Ricci's very respectable role. Christina Ricci was very believable too as her girlfriend. I watched it in first line only for the characters and in second line less for the story. I can highly recommend it for all film fans who appreciate serious acting and who love true stories. You cannot expect too much action but therefore lot of dramatic moments. 6.5/10.

For once the Academy got it right!

[kdjohnson01 · 10/10 · 6 December 2004]

For once the Oscar went to the most deserving. I was not sure I wanted to see this movie, but after seeing a trailer I became curious and decided to check it out. Charlize Theron completely blew me away! She is barely recognizable and seems to be channeling Wuornos at some points. Patty Jenkins is to be highly complimented on her writing and directing skills also. Rarely have I been so moved by a film but this one simply cuts to the core and leaves you raw. Wuornos was obviously not well, yet Jenkins provides insightful monologues that allowed me to understand and sympathize for Wuornos. It is a sad and moving movie. Never have I felt so disturbed yet riveted by a movie such as this one.

Play against type, reap the rewards

[tjcclarke · 6/10 · 8 April 2004]

So another of Tinsletown's beautiful people piles on the pounds for a couple of months, spends a few hours in make-up every morning and walks away with an Oscar. Hollywood is indeed a fickle place. When they need a broad, greasy-haired lesbian serial killer who looks like she's been hit in the face with a spade, who do they pick, but Charlize Theron, one of the most attractive women in the world who, if memory serves, earns a handy extra income by promoting shampoo. Forget about all the aspiring actresses earning five dollars an hour as waitresses in LA diners, most of whom are a good deal closer to Aileen Wuornos in the looks department - lets pay millions of dollars for a celebrity, plaster her in make-up until she's unrecognisable and force-feed her Big Macs.

And of course they are right. A movie like Monster needs a star and a story to make it fly. Most Academy members recognise that if one of their leading lights is prepared to slum it for a while, come off the Atkins diet and slap on some unflattering prosthetics in the name of art, then they deserve some appreciation. Put them through scenes of rape and torture and constantly greasy hair and the Oscar is a certainty. Nobody ever won an Academy Award by acting happy-go-lucky.

As it happens, Theron's Oscar is about the only point of interest in the whole project. In truth, hers in an average performance in an average movie. Wuornos seems to have been a fairly nasty piece of work. A career prostitute, she is on the brink of suicide when she meets Selby (Christina Ricci) in a gay bar. The two strike up an unusual alliance and go on the run together. What follows is an unpleasant, awkward buddy movie - a downmarket Thelma and Louise - with little aesthetic or emotional appeal. Wuornos spends the entire time drinking, smoking, cussing and offing her clients while Selby slouches around in grimy motel rooms. A sort of love borne out of mutual need develops eventually as Wuornos, her trust in men shattered, succumbs to Selby physically, but it is never truly convincing.

That is the trouble with true stories, as the cliché goes, they are often stranger than fiction, and when you throw in two famous, alluring actresses, the bounds of plausibility stretch ever further. Frankly, one gets the impression that Ricci, free from the constraints of half a ton of foundation slapped on her face could do a lot better. Aside from her psychotic tendencies, Theron wanders about with the same crazed bulldog-chewing-wasp expression for the whole film. Maybe she spent too long in make-up and her face dried solid. Either that or she's method acting.

Monster falls in to the trap of introducing hackneyed devices to illustrate the point it's trying to make: The walls in the motels are black with dirt indicating that the whole affair is sordid and dirty; Selby's family life is ultra-conservative so THAT's why she rebels; There is the whole hooker-tries-to-get-regular-job scene that has been done a million times before. I could go on. It has all the hallmarks of a TV movie - I was half expecting high-rolling lawyers played by Brian Dennehy and Harry Hamlin to enter the fray at the trial and get her off on a technicality.

I am being overly harsh. Monster is not a bad film. It just isn't very good. So to give it the Oscar-winning tag is a little misleading.

6/10

Theron Ignored the Victims

[RoboSlater · 1/10 · 17 September 2004]

Monster claims it is "based on a true story." But it is not as true as you might think.

True, serial killer Aileen Wuornos was convicted and then executed 12 years ago in Florida.

In the movie, Wuornos is presented as a killer with a soft side in a loving lesbian relationship with her girlfriend, played by Christina Ricci.

Here's the problem: If filmmakers say their movie is "based on a true story," shouldn't the heart of the story be true?

Down on Her Luck, or Brutal Killer?

Wuornos was a prostitute who hitchhiked across central Florida to find customers. In the movie, she tries to go straight but society lets her down, making it difficult for her to find a job, so she returns to the streets.

As Monster tells it, one john brutally beats and rapes Wuornos in some very disturbing scenes. When the attacker threatens to kill her, she shoots him in self-defense. When moviegoers see the graphic rape scene, many feel Wuornos is the victim. This has family members of the real victims unhappy.

Theron helped produce the film, and talks about the research she did while promoting the film. I would think the research would include talking to the prosecutor, John Tanner, who spent years investigating Wuornos and the seven men she killed.

But he was not consulted.

"You know, these men had wives. They have daughters, brothers, sons, friends," Tanner told ABCNEWS. "And anyone that sees that film is left with the impression that - at least some of the men that were murdered deserved to die and that she was acting in self-defense. It's a total lie."

Wuornos even admitted that her crimes, committed in Florida in the 1980s, were not "self-defense." During her trial, Wuornos took the stand and said she "robbed" the men and killed them "as cold as ice."

"And I'd do it again, too, I know I'd kill another person, 'cause I've hated humans for a long time," said Wuornos. She then continued to claim the men were innocent while in prison, after she said she found God.

"I want to come clean. There is no self-defense," said Wuornos. "And so I need to come clean, I need to tell the world that there is no self-defense in my cases."

When picking up her Golden Globe for her performance, Theron thanked lots of people, but she never once mentioned the families of the murdered men.

"I don't think they cared about the victims' families," said Linda Yates. Her mother was engaged to Gino Antonio, when Wuornos killed him. "[Wuornos] was just a vicious person," said Yates.

In fact, the filmmakers didn't talk to any of the victims families. Mike Humphreys' dad was also murdered. He has a problem with the way the movie was produced: "I don't think that they ought to do this to the victims out there," said Humphreys.

"This movie is portraying her as a victim," said Letha Prater. "She isn't. She was not a victim. My brother was a victim."

Most of the family members won't go to the movie.

The movie does acknowledge Wuornos killed one man who was trying to help her, but all the others are shown as johns. The families say that's cruel to them.

I confronted Brad Wyman, one of Monster's producers.

I told him that while in the movie, Wuornos' character is tied up, beaten and raped, but in reality, she said that never happened. "I believe she said that in order to actually try to expedite her own execution," said Wyman. "She really wanted to end her own personal tragedy."

Wyman said the filmmaker did her best to protect the victims in the portrayal, changing details including their license plates and the color of their cars. But they never spoke to the victims' families because, as Wyman puts it, they did not want to "unearth more tragedy in their lives."

Wyman explained why the film took liberties with some facts. "It's not a documentary. I mean in no way is it," said Wyman. "It is a dramatic portrayal searching for kind of a greater truth rather than a … a factual truth."

A greater truth than factual truth?

Give me a break.

-- John Stoessel

Grim Portrait Of A Sad, Wasted Life

[robc-11 · 24 June 2004]

Let me begin by saying that Charlize Theron gives the best female performance that I have ever seen on film. Theron deservedly won the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos. I can not recall a performance, male or female, with such raw intensity. For those who may not know, MONSTER is the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who was executed a couple of years ago for killing men that picked her up on the highway. However, this is much, much more than a deranged serial killer flick. This film shows us, very convincingly, how a person can be led to a life of violence. Aileen had an awful childhood and an awful life. She was molested as a child by her father as well as other male relatives. As a child, she was surrounded by abuse, drug addiction, and domestic violence. Men horribly abused her as a child, and she began prostituting at age thirteen. In her later years, Aileen became a prostitute because it had been grilled into her head all her life that she was just a whore. As MONSTER opens, Aileen's car breaks down and she wanders into what she doesn't know is a gay bar. Sitting alone at a table is lonely, confused lesbian Selby (Christina Ricci), who strikes up a conversation with the dirty, unkempt Aileen, who washes her hair in gas station sinks and uses the hand dryer to fix her hair. After many drinks, Aileen and Selby become close, and soon enter into an unhealthy, torrid, tragic love affair. Selby is naive and has always been sheltered, and she just wants genuine love. However, Aileen has issues that Selby doesn't see at first. There is certainly nothing positive or redeeming about serial killers, but you often feel yourself having a small bit of sympathy for Aileen because you realize why she kills the men who pick her up...SHE HATES MEN. Aileen has always hated men, and the only love scenes in which any tenderness and emotion is shown are the lesbian love scenes between Aileen and Selby. You also feel some sorrow for Aileen because she DOES want to improve herself, but has no way of knowing how to do so. There are scenes where Aileen applies for jobs because she really wants to do right, but she is always rejected. She applies for secretarial jobs at law offices and is laughed right out of the building while she curses and screams at everyone. She doesn't know any better because she has no social skills. In one of the most powerful scenes, Aileen is hitch hiking and is picked up by a genuinely nice man who offers to help her. He is sincere and doesn't want sex. He is a decent man who offers a helping hand, but Aileen just can not trust any man. She tells him she doesn't want to kill him, but because her previous killings are all over the news, she has to kill him so she won't be identified. Selby, meanwhile, learns of Aileen's murderous rampage and tearfully decides to go to the authorities. What makes this film so powerful is that this is A TRUE STORY. Aileen Wuornos had a miserable life. Life dealt her a s@@@@y hand. She never had a chance. Growing up, nobody....teachers, parents, relatives....reached out to her. You can't excuse a serial killer rampage, but this is the only "serial killer" film that I have seen that at least offers some reasoning behind the insanity. Again, this is intense, and Charlize Theron is AMAZING.

Pretty good, yet lacking

[stamper · 7/10 · 20 November 2004]

This film, is pretty good, owing most of course to the intriguing story and the great acting of all involved (in particular that of Charlize Theron). For me though, the film holds a couple of flaws as well though. First of all, I find the end and the way Wuornos is picked up in the end a bit hard to believe, with regards to her suspicious nature towards depicted throughout the film. Also, the film could have shown more of the trial of Aileen. Maybe it is, because I am a psychology student, but in my mind (judging from the portrayal of Theron of course) this woman was mentally ill. Therefore I would have liked to hear some expert testimonies. Additionally I would have liked to know how many people she killed and in what time-frame etcetera. Another thing that wasn't cleared up in the film was: "What 'old thing' was she arrested for???" I mean, there remain numerous questioned unanswered by the film. Those who want the answers to these and all other questions check out: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/wuornos/1.html?sect=11

The fact that I found so many downsides to this film (in my opinion) might make it sound as if I didn't enjoy the film. This is not true. I found it heart-breaking and heart-warming at times and thought it was a pretty good movie (I did NOT regret hiring it). Yet I felt that for this movie to be GREAT, to be A CLASSIC, it would have had to be made different. Telling more of Aileen's story and not just implying some things along the way without clearing them up. Also it could have been more informative. But still, with the great acting and because it never got boring it gets a...

7 out of 10

Extraordinary performances.

[oliver-123 · 10/10 · 20 October 2004]

I watched this on video and was completely blown away. I thought Charlize Theron's performance as Aileen was extraordinary, not simply in the scenes with the men (especially the "last john", when she has to shut herself off from the humanity of the man she is about to kill) and in generally suggesting an increasingly out of control personality, but in the scenes with Shelby (Christina Ricci), right up to her near-breakdown when she is putting Shelby on the bus. Despite adverse comments from other reviewers, I consider Christina Ricci's portrayal of Shelby equally remarkable, conveying childlike naivety, seductiveness, stubbornness and growing manipulativeness very well. They dominate the film between them, but the supporting performances are fine also. I gave this 10 out of 10.

Scary woman

[elliotjeory · 7/10 · 23 June 2021]

The story is excellent and Charlize Theron definitely deserved an Oscar for her performance. The make up artist too. It's not an easy watch but it's a good film.

Unbelievable

[orangecls · 10/10 · 25 March 2005]

This movie really helped me to begin my own healing. I, to a small degree, relate to the lead. I am a rape survivor (as a toddler and a college student), it stirred up so many feelings that I've experienced. My innocence is gone... why not try to make some money while re-claiming my sexuality? And of course, I've had a problem with viewing all men as perverts. But she did come across men that were actually wanting to help her -- I wish that could have turned her around the way one man helped me come around. And I'm so lucky to have him. I'm so glad that I chose to see this movie. I hope others can be as positively impacted by this film as I was.

Love is where you find it.

[michaelRokeefe · 7/10 · 13 February 2004]

Love and life can be cruel and down right hellish. This is a stark bio of Aileen Wuornos(Charlize Theron)who grew up in Michigan and was forced to deal with abuse, drugs and after becoming a prostitute having a child by the age 13. Wuornos would eventually move to Florida and take her anger out on men she "serviced" along the highway. She would enter into a lesbian relationship with a shy younger woman Selby(Christina Ricci)more than likely looking for acceptance. During a nine month period in 1989 and 1990 Wuornos would murder seven of her "Johns" to avenge being raped and beaten.

Theron is excellent and her hard work has earned her an Oscar nomination. Ricci is believable as the young lover. Bruce Dern plays the part of an old man who befriends the highway prostitute. Vivid foul language, sexual content and brutal violence makes this a strong R. The lesbian love making is urgent and eye popping. Believe it or not the title MONSTER is not in reference to Wuornos.

She Never Had a Chance

[Hitchcoc · 9/10 · 2 June 2011]

Having spent much of my youth in the presence of losers and the disenfranchised, this movie really hit home. There's no question that the Academy Award went to the correct person. The combination of rage and despair are so admirably presented a character as complex as the creases on her expressive face. It's the ultimate vicious circle. We tend to vilify someone like this because we only see the surface. But inside is that good heart that would love to become whole, but the past has too many tentacles and there are too many bruises that would need to be treated. She has no defenses. Even acting to save herself, she starts the ball rolling toward her destruction. We forget this is actually a love story, but the cards are stacked to the heavens. Great performances by Theron and Ricci. The latter brings a knowing innocence and we wonder if she will have an opportunity. Not comfortable to watch, but we need to see it.

MONSTROUSLY UNCOMFORTABLE

[MadamWarden · 7/10 · 27 March 2022]

This movie is ugly. Ugly in all its meanings. Physically, mentally and emotionally. Theron and Ricci are terrific.

An uncomfortable watch but I guess one has to, in order to witness Theron's transformation.

The story of Aileen Wuornos told with chills and tenderness, Theron has never been better

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 30 November 2016]

In other hands, 'Monster' could easily have been overwrought, overly-sadistic, over-sentimental and too heavy on the melodrama, which would have done an interesting and more complex-than-one-would-think serial killer an injustice.

'Monster' however turned out to be a near-flawless film, that has a real sense of the time, the brutality of the crimes and also the case's complexity. The story of Aileen Wuornos here is told here as more than just a serial killer film, it is instead a powerful film told with harrowing chills and tender humanity with Wuornos herself portrayed as more than just a monster without being glorified or over-humanised.

An earth-shattering, career-best performance from Charlize Theron as Wuornos helps enormously, a performance that goes way beyond changing her appearance completely by gaining weight and using dental prosthetics to the point of being unrecognisable and is one of gentle compassion and frightening coldness. This may sound oxymoronic, but it isn't, it means that what could easily have been a one-dimensional portrait of Wuornos is given surprising complexity by Theron.

She is superbly supported by an understated Christina Ricci, though one wishes that her character had a little more development and was more vividly drawn. The supporting cast all round are strong, if not burning in the memory as much or as long as Theron. 'Monster' is directed beautifully by Patty Jenkins, and the production values are similarly terrific especially in the gritty and classy cinematography that perfectly captures the dark subject matter. The music is used sparely but when used is very evocative of the period.

Further advantages are an intelligent and beautifully-constructed screenplay, that balances Wuornos' character with aplomb and the different mood components with equal adeptness, and a continually gripping story that is frightfully rich in atmosphere and mood.

Overall, truly excellent film especially for Theron, that avoids all the potential pitfalls it could easily have done in other hands. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Yes, she's a revelation--but she's the whole picture...

[moonspinner55 · 6/10 · 23 January 2005]

Charlize Theron as convicted murderess Aileen Wuornos. Intriguing true story becomes a fashion-staple's Oscar ticket, and for good reason: the speech, the mannerisms, the fierce stare, the bravado of a dead-end life on a ruinous road are all letter-perfect, and Theron's make-down gives our imagination just what it needs--nothing over the top. I found however Christina Ricci, despite some strong early scenes, badly miscast as Wuornos' bedfellow and partner in crime (she's too young, of course, but she doesn't match up well with Theron, either in stature or in their acting styles--and their love scenes are most uncomfortable). The film is slackly directed, with some of the power of the situations muffled by the editing. Scenes run on too long or not long enough, while a few of Theron's outbursts are not fully explored (sure she's angry, and she's got a right to be, but in a job interview? and why would Wuornos apply for secretarial jobs--did she feel she was above warehouse or assembly-line work where she might have excelled?). The overreaching finale misses the mark while striving for higher importance, and this is surely the fault of the director, but Theron manages to eke out a credible characterization, a performance that nearly overshadows big faults with "Monster". **1/2 from ****

Poorly made and dishonest

[MovieAddict2016 · 4/10 · 3 May 2005]

Having taken a slight interest in the story of Aileen Wuornos, I was appalled by "Monster" because it does no justice to her story. To be fair, Charlize Theron gives a good performance as Wuornos, but after seeing Nick Broomfield's "The Selling of a Serial Killer" (1992) I realized just how biased and dishonest the film adaptation "Monster" is.

Patty Jenkins does have a clear agenda to push which is this: Aileen wasn't a bad person, it was men that made her that way because she was abused by them. It's true, yes, but that doesn't negate what she did -- she still murdered innocent people and "Monster" really tries to gloss over some of this.

Second of all, my big problem with the film is that it spends so much unnecessary time on the relationship between Aileen and her lover, played by Christina Ricci. It's true, they were involved together, but the movie stops midway to focus on the trials and tribulations -- trying to add depth to the characters -- and fails (or at least it did for me) because I soon lost interest in the "love story." In fact this is yet another case of the film glossing over events -- most of the stuff involving the two in this movie is completely made up.

I would have preferred a less biased viewpoint on the matter. Although Broomfield's documentary is also very biased (on Channel 4 he even provided a post-chapter where he explains Aileen was just troubled and not aware of what she was doing) it is far more truthful to Aileen's story.

Her story is a true American tragedy and to see it glossed over by Hollywood like this, added on top of lies and a biased agenda, is really a shame.

A lot of people are going to disagree with me on this but I can't hide my dislike for "Monster" and the disappointment I suffered after seeing it.