Sympathy for the Devil

Rating: 7/10 (16 October 2005)

This is a tough movie. Which is good, because it should be tough. In fact, movies like this should be almost unwatchable. We watch these films though, because we are human, and we are interested. Things we don't understand fascinate us. People in situations we have never been in, people doing things we cannot imagine ourselves doing - we watch and we wonder - what would i do here? Could i ever act like that give the right circumstances? Would i sell my body if it was the only way to survive? Could i kill a man who attacked me? Could i fall into a gay relationship? And i suppose the most compelling thing is that, thank God - most of us never have to find out, so we begin to enjoy the drama and the unknown of what we are watching. And this is a dramatic and gripping movie. There is no doubt in my mind that it is a movie made with care and made well. I was glued as i'm sure millions were. And i think again, that this is all fine and good and healthy. The problem i have with movies about real life people who do terrible things is this... I found myself being so unbelievably impressed by the performance given by Charlize Theron, that i soon forgot about the real Aileen Wuornos, the woman i'd watched in the documentary 'Life and Death of a Serial Killer' who stayed with me for days after watching, images of her and bits of things she had said were trapped in my head. She terrified me and yet i found her story heartbreaking. Ahe appalled me and yet i wanted to understand her and look within myself to see reason for the things she did. But i could not - not by looking inward - I have never been abused, i have never been raped, i have not suffered even a tiny extent of the things she did. I cannot understand a woman like that - i can feel for her and i can be angered and shocked by the things she experienced, but it would be ignorant and foolish to say 'i understand'. Charlize Theron's portrayal of Aileen is so good that after watching Monster, i found things began to get muddy. I felt like i did understand. I could look within myself and see why things happened the way they did. I felt that i now understood Aileen better, that i knew her now, i could see what sort of person she was and i could now feel sympathy for her, perhaps even empathy. But now, on reflection, i suspect that this is not really the case. I was, in all honesty, seeing Theron. She plays this part so well that it is almost impossible to see where Aileen ends and Charleze begins which from a dramatic and cinematic perspective is quite an achievement, but although the character is made real, and believable and has been carefully studied, it is not real. Aileen Wuornos is not an 'impressive' woman. Be impressed by Theron, by all means, but before casting opinions of right and wrong, see the real woman. And then try to decide how you feel.