Sympathy for the devil

Rating: 6/10 (31 July 2004)

Though this film is brutally honest about Aileen 'Lee' Wuornos' crimes it does provoke some sympathy for her. Yes, she does kill many people (all men) but when you consider how many men battered her and raped her all through her life, even as a child, it's no surprise she became so psychotic.
And I don't think it's exactly fair that she got the death penalty. Surely it would have been best to help a woman who lived her entire existence in the dregs of society (which is surely to blame for sending her mad) than executing her.
Focusing entirely on Lee instead of the police investigations following her (there is a TV movie from the mid-90s that does exactly this if you're more interested), we see her straggle from thinking about suicide, hooking up with lonely, naive Selby (Christina Ricci), killing in self-defense and finally killing for revenge/money.
Charlize Theron completely vanishes as she brings her take on Lee (her full name is never mentioned in the film) to the screen. She sure deserved her Academy Award and Christina Ricca (who is very cute here) is also very good. However, for a lesbian couple I just didn't see any real feeling between them. It annoyed me how fast the film moved and there are not really many quiet moments for these two characters to bond in any way. Yes, they proclaim their love for each other but I just didn't see it. There was too much shouting and screaming.
There are no surprises in the film, as we all know how it ends anyway. But some of Lee's killings are harsh, compelling and even ironic. The overall effect of the film isn't so long-lasting on me though.
It's shot and lit like a TV movie and Lee's heavy judgment at the end of the film is played down. For a film that is slightly biased to her point of view it's annoying that her unfair trial and life are not exploited just a little bit more for us to gain a little extra insight into the making of a 'monster'.
Keep a lookout for Kane Hodder as an undercover cop near the end.
The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby/DTS 5.1 sound and some slight extras.