Charlize Theron totally elevates this film

Rating: 8/10 (1 February 2004)

My Rating: *** out of ****.
Give her the Oscar already. It is so obvious that Charlize Theron will win the Best Actress Oscar in 26 Days. Not only because she is a pretty girl that was able to look ugly. But it is because her performance is absolutely powerful. From beginning to end, she is Aileen Wurnos.

So what about the rest of the film? Well, Monster is an effective and compelling film. However, the reason it is effective and compelling is for Charlize Theron. Without Theron this movie would be ok at best. I found the script to be mediocre. I really felt that Charlize made the film into something worthwhile.
One of the problems with the film is the Theron's voiceover. When used at the beginning it is fine. However, it seemed rather pointless and distracting the rest of the time. Her voiceover at the end came off a bit corny.
I should praise the make-up crew. Charlize was unrecognizable, although I never found Aileen to be a hideous looking woman. She was no Charlize but still I found her to be an overweight but somewhat attractive woman.

The only other actor to have significant screentime is Christina Ricci. Ricci does gives a good performance but she is completely upstaged by Theron. However, they do exhibit some chemistry together. The rest of the cast was forgettable, well Bruce Dern was sort of memorable despite not much screentime.
This is the debut film of Patty Jenkins. She was the writer and director of the film. Her screenplay is not remotely interesting and her direction is fine at best. Her job was to make sure that the film was never boring and to make sure Charlize completely WOWED us. She achieved those well(She may be able to do more on her next project). Monster is certainly not one of the years best films and without Charlize this film would be mediocre at best. However, Charlize elevates this film to a higher level and she has 26 days till she receives her Oscar.