Hollywood's idea of low class

Rating: 5/10 (16 June 2004)

It takes more than acting talent for a rich Hollywood actress to truly emulate the down-and-out, the homeless, prostitution, the so-called dregs of society... it takes true genius. Charlize Theron is clearly no genius. No amount of makeup, "trash talk" or other pretense can communicate the pervasive sense of despair, the drug abuse, the mental illness, the real attitudes and situations that poverty tends to bestow upon a person... having had occasion to be temporarily homeless a few times, maybe I'm a better judge of this than most. From the beginning this film had "Hollywood pretense" written all over it, and I admit that I couldn't sit through any more after the first rape scene. The film kept pegging my "BS meter," although it may appeal to the more privileged (Roger Ebert?) who really have no clue what it's like to live this sort of a lifestyle. Perhaps I should have watched more in order to write a proper review, but the acting and situations portrayed just did not ring true to me at all. 5/10