Monster of a Movie

Rating: 9/10 (16 January 2004)

***Possible Spoilers***
Believe the hype. This movie is outstanding on several fronts. The story is simple. The emotions are complicated. It's possible to see how circumstances made this woman become "serial killer Aileen Wuornos," and at the same time impossible not to feel for some of the men that she killed and their families. It asks the viewer to evaluate the characteristics of "good people" and the qualities of "bad people" better than most movies that attempt to examine the internal structures of morality. The overall feeling of the film is dark and isolating...reminiscent of "Boys Don't Cry." Charlize Theron's performance is as good as it gets. She just nails it, no two ways about it. Christina Ricci, always a favorite, was just ok...though not really her fault as I don't think that her character was given any room to develop. But, did I mention Charlize Theron?