Strong stuff, but...

Rating: Null/10 (2 January 2004)

I saw this last night and I have to agree with Greg's comments above. I thought it was powerful and disturbing (it stuck with me today, which films rarely do), but after awhile the makeup job felt a little gimmicky. Despite a great performance, I found myself wondering through most of the movie if the actual makeup was doing the acting (the frowning, downturned expression Wuornos often had), or Ms. Theron was. It also seemed like the film did very little to explain why Shelby would be attracted to a character disorder like Aileen Wuornos and would continue to live in such obvious denial throughout their relationship.
I saw "AW: The Selling of a Serial Killer" several years ago and the real woman struck me as a sociopath with very little insight or remorse for why she killed... she was a complex, tortured personality who appeared to have very little control over her rages and her impulse control. Was she a victim? Of course she was... but the film would have been so much more if it had pointed out that she was a woman who wouldn't take responsibility for her past and chose to be destructive. I think there has been a dangerous trend in American movies for several decades now that emphathizes with criminals by providing a simple, kind of "tied up in a ribbon" history that turns them into heroes (or is that anti-heroes?). Personalities (or personality disorders) just aren't put together that simply. The scene in "Monster" where AW rationalizes ("people are killed every day") her crimes to her partner was probably the most chilling aspect of this film and was so perfectly written that it was frightening (I will tell you that I work with sociopaths in my profession every day, and that scene could have been recorded word-for-word from one of them).
In any case, what I thought was unmistakable about the film was that it took some guts to make it and it didn't apologise, and for that I think it should be congratulated. I've stopped watching most American movies because they seem as though they've been put together in a factory and don't want to take risks for fear of losing money at the box office. Despite what I thought were some flaws, this one did take risks and was pretty bold about it.