This movie was incredible!

Rating: 10/10 (19 December 2004)

As a Floridian, I watched Aileen Wuornos' trials and news reports as they were unfolding. She was imprisoned and put to death less than five miles from my house. I didn't see the film until after Charlize Theron won the Oscar, and so much had been made of her gaining weight and becoming unattractive for the role I was downright cynical about why she won the award. That is, until I saw the movie!
Charlize Theron's on screen portrayal of Aileen is so eerily realistic that you forget it's an actress behind some prosthetics: she WAS Aileen for the entire duration of the film. I kept saying,"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh" the whole time, as she had every single mannerism of Aileen's down to a T. It was the most impressive portrayal of a real person that I have ever seen, hands down. This woman deserved that Oscar!
Although several people thought the film was sympathetic to Wuornos, I didn't see this as being the case. We saw that Aileen was manipulative, violent, abusive,and didn't take responsibility for her actions. We also saw her as a human being: vulnerable, traumatized, and lost. Despite the insight into Wuornos' humanity, we still knew she was beyond help.
Christina Ricci also delivered a terrific performance as Shelby, and was a perfect complement to Charlize-as-Aileen's abrasiveness.This was the best film of 2003, IMO.