Theron earned that Oscar.

Rating: 9/10 (25 September 2004)

Not being very familiar with the true story behind this film, I'll opt out of judging its veracity in terms of objectively defining Wuornos' character.
However - Charlize Theron has indelibly stamped her mark on the shortlist of actresses who truly morph into each new role. Meryl Streep, for example.
The film, for all its shortcomings, is riveting, mainly by virtue of Theron's portrayal. Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern are notable, as well. The seamy, downscale side of Florida is well represented, as is the unrelenting desperation of its down-and-out underclass.
It's a film worth watching several times. The dialogue is sometimes slightly muddled and hard to follow, simply because Theron is so absorbed in being Wuornos, she doesn't always enunciate well enough to be understood.
I'd like to have seen a bit more fleshing out of her background and the process that led up to her death sentence. The major flaw in the whole premise may have been that it was told entirely from her POV -- which causes some dissonance between the person we see and her ultimate fate, which comes across as quite unfair. As another reviewer said, she couldn't have been just another "misunderstood bad guy." None of the above detracts from Theron's work here. Her range is the stuff of legends.
/r