Director Jenkins delivers a superb film with a sure and steady hand

Rating: Null/10 (26 February 2004)

"Monster" follows the downward spiral of street person/prostitute/serial killer Aileen Wuornos. It's a bleak story, to be sure, but it's told with such compassion and it's so remarkably free of pathos that the film is thoroughly engrossing. From the start we sense that Aileen and her younger lesbian girlfriend are doomed - a sense of dread hangs over the characters. It may be the same kind of foreboding that we felt with "Boys Don't Cry".
Most of the comments are, of course, about the gorgeous Charlize Theron transforming herself completely into this character. It is astonishing, to be sure. But it's not simply a case of an actor gaining weight for a role; Theron delivers a startling performance; she has dug deep into this character and you can feel the layers to this woman. In "Raging Bulls" Robert DeNiro went through a similar, physical transformation but what was the point? It seemed to be an exercise for its own sake because his Jake LaMotta was beyond redemption - simply a brute - and it left us asking why should anyone glorify this character with a film.
Theron delves deep into her character too but achieves sympathy.
Not enough comments remark on the stunning achievement by first-time Writer-Director Patty Jenkins. She has delivered a superb film with a sure and steady hand. Bravo!