Chills to the max!

Rating: Null/10 (27 February 2004)

Charlize Theron gives one of the most brilliant performances of a lifetime. So brilliant in fact that if she continues to be a successful actress by choosing the right roles then she will never top this. This is her masterpiece.
Based on a true story, Aileen Wuornos is a woman who was executed in Florida in 2002 for murdering several men while she worked as a prostitute. Wuornos had real problems in life. Abused as a child, discarded by her siblings and friends and other family as well as never finding success in life drove her insane enough to become a serial killer.
The first time she kills someone in the film is when she is raped by her john. She is bound and gagged but breaks free and then kills the man by shooting him. After the initial shock passes, she finds killing easier and easier. Befriended by a young lesbian (Christina Ricci), she drags the young girl into this life with her. Ricci's character never kills anyone but she knows what Wuornos is up to and is either too scared to report her or too sympathetic towards Wuornos' mixed up and miserable life.
Theron's performance is so authentic and so good that it is just chilling. I left the theatre shaken up and that hasn't happened to me in a very long time. Dare I say it is up there with the great female performances of the last 15 years alongside Jodie Foster in 'The Silence of the Lambs', Frances McDormand in 'Fargo' and Hilary Swank in 'Boys Don't Cry'. Director Patty Jenkins deserves a ton of credit for telling a straight forward story that is neither sympathetic or false. It is convincing on every level and will leave your jaw dropping to the floor after you see it.