Monster

Rating: 8/10 (4 February 2015)

Although Charlize Theron won an Oscar for her performance here, deservedly so, the film bends over backwards to put a human face on Aileen Wuornos that she doesn't really deserve. True, for those at the very bottom of society, life does seem like a conspiracy to hold them down, something that is evident here, but Wuornos had her chances. There is no mention in "Monster" of her marriage to a much older and extremely wealthy man, a big chance that she threw away by brutalising him. Her love interest Selby (in reality Tyria Moore) was a butch lesbian and absolutely nothing like the delectable Christina Ricci. Having said that, she was undoubtedly the only good thing in the serial killer's life after they met, and did her best for her. Here, she is portrayed as a little girl lost sponging off Wuornos, and in awe of her prostitute image.
The first victim - Richard Mallory - is shown brutalising and raping Wuornos after the "trick" turns sour; in reality, although Mallory was a sexual deviant, there is no evidence that in their encounter he was anything more than a man who paid for sex and ended up dead.
The film ends effectively when Wuornos and her lover part company, although we see a glimpse of her first murder trial, but nothing after that. Not a bad soundtrack either, but although "Don't Stop Believin'" is a great song, it sounds lyrically dissonant here.