Average in every way

Rating: 6/10 (10 March 2004)

Monster aspires to do what Boys Don't Cry has achieved: a human portrayal of a freak. But Monster falls short because it takes itself too seriously and because it is too sentimental. The director stumbles over her own feet trying to make us sympathize with the monster, something that would have been much easier if she wouldn't be breathing down our necks: "Look, pathos!" "To your left, human kindness!" "Hey, more good deeds just around that corner!". Especially the ending suffers from it, because the director raises the emphasis to bring across a sense of urgency and tension. It left me with dry eyes and an empty heart. Charlize Theron certainly did a good effort with her role. But her performance was very uneven at best, wavering between warm femininity and an unconvincing macho attitude. One is left wondering whether she is portraying a gauche character or whether she is having trouble portraying a woman with a male attitude. Certainly it was not an Oscar-worthy performance. If you compare this role to the one portrayed by Hillary Swank, the latter stands out with ease.