Extraordinary performances.

Rating: 10/10 (20 October 2004)

I watched this on video and was completely blown away. I thought Charlize Theron's performance as Aileen was extraordinary, not simply in the scenes with the men (especially the "last john", when she has to shut herself off from the humanity of the man she is about to kill) and in generally suggesting an increasingly out of control personality, but in the scenes with Shelby (Christina Ricci), right up to her near-breakdown when she is putting Shelby on the bus. Despite adverse comments from other reviewers, I consider Christina Ricci's portrayal of Shelby equally remarkable, conveying childlike naivety, seductiveness, stubbornness and growing manipulativeness very well. They dominate the film between them, but the supporting performances are fine also. I gave this 10 out of 10.