Gritty and Disturbing

Rating: 5/10 (4 August 2005)

Charlize did an amazing job of transforming herself into this woman. You didn't see Charlize anymore. You saw this ill-treated and disturbed woman trying to make sense of the life that she's led. You can really see how abusing children can lead to traumatized and dangerous adults. You almost understood her deranged logic for killing johns, but you knew she had to go down, because you already knew the story. I felt sorry for her because it seemed like the woman didn't have a chance. Life just dealt her blow after blow, so it's like, who wouldn't make the choices she did? Was she really a monster? She seemed more like a woman without a childhood or a sense of living beyond herself. Yea, she spoke about wanting to be famous and more than her pitiful beginnings, but she never elevated herself to those lofty ideals. She kept thinking that life owed her something, and let's face it, life doesn't work that way. It appeared to me that that was her tragic flaw: her expectations.
Ricci's adaptation of Selby irked me to no end. Why was she acting like some meek child throughout the whole film? She's usually praised as the "Indie Movie Princess", but I found her severely lacking in this film. I was shocked to find that she would continue the entire movie like a 4-yr old child. You never sensed her confusion with defining her sexuality with her Christianity. She was an odd choice to the depth and intensity of Charlize's Aileen. You just felt like Ricci was skipping through her lines waiting to hit the catered food table when the director yelled "Cut!". I was really surprised, because I would hate to think that her acting as Wednesday was better than her in this. She was like 11 when she did that. You think she'd have matured in her acting range.
The movie was deep and gritty. It was truly a great movie for Charlize that was worthy of the Oscar. I'd hate to think actresses have to play seedier elements of femininity to win Oscars, but it's a small step.