Good Lead Performance, but Predictable

Rating: Null/10 (2 February 2019)

Monster is a 2003 film written and directed by Patty Jenkins that chronicles the life of convicted serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos (played superbly by Charlize Theron) is a prostitute that meets a young woman, Selby (played by Christina Ricci), who has been sent to Florida after coming out to her parents. Selby is lonely and becomes inextricably involved with Wuornos. It is during this period that Wuornos, after a brutal rape, begins to kill and rob the men she solicits.
This can be a tough film to watch. Wuornos is a tortured soul and exhibits psychopathic tendencies even before the murder spree begins. Jenkins expertly divulges Wuornos' back story during the film with a series of narrations. The viewer learns that Wuornos' childhood and upbringing were heinous. Abandoned by her parents, allegedly abused by her grandfather, and a mother at age 14, Wuornos probably had many emotional scars by adulthood.
Selby is simply a lost young woman trying to find herself and sees excitement in Wuornos. Ricci does a good job portraying her as willfully clueless. Selby knows and accepts that Wuornos is a prostitute and eventually learns that she killed someone. But, somehow, Selby never questions how Wuornos arrives with a different car every few days or where she is getting large sums of cash. Selby only seems concerned that she is relegated to the motel rooms and apartments where they stay.
This film is ultimately about justice. One can certainly have sympathy for Wuornos' upbringing and position in life. Her first killing may very well have been done in self-defense. However, it is hard to justify Wuornos' subsequent actions. Premeditatedly killing people as a way to salve one's emotional wounds, no matter how deep, is difficult to warrant.
Selby's actions are enigmatic. While Wuornos supported both of them, Selby never really tried to help Wuornos out of her position in life. In the end, Selby seems to coax a confession from Wuornos (in exchange for leniency) with no real remorse. Selby's caretaker in Florida remarks that Wuornos is only out to take advantage of her. By the end of the film, it appears that perhaps it was Selby taking advantage of Wuornos.
Monster is a movie that ultimately makes the viewer feel empty. Except for Wuornos' internal rage, there is no other resolution or motive for the main character's actions. Theron provides a glimpse into Wournos' psyche but the movie proceeds actually as you know it will.