*** Official MONSTER Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Jason Whyte]

I certainly can't wait to see this film, but I did see Nick Broomfield's documentary about Aileen Wouronus entitled "Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer" at this year's Vancouver Film Festival, and while it wasn't my favorite documentary from there, it did have one of the most memorable sequences where Aileen lets out a long, shouting monologue about her life and what she's done. I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. If Theron can pull off HALF of the intensity in "Monster", she's a shoo-in for the Best Actress nomination.

More on Broomfield's doc, which opens theatrically in January:

http://www.nickbroomfield.com/AWLD.html

Jason

 

[JonZ]

A impressive review...........

http://movie-reviews.colossus.net/mo...nster2003.html

 

[Peter Kline]

With crooked yellowed teeth that jut from a mouth that spews profanity in a surly staccato, a freckled weather-beaten face and a prizefighter's swagger, Charlize Theron pulls off the year's most astounding screen makeover in Patty Jenkins's film "Monster." At the very least the disappearance of the cool and creamy blond star into the body of a ruddy, bedraggled street person is an astounding cosmetic stunt.

But Ms. Theron's transformation, supervised by the makeup wizard Toni G, is not just a matter of surfaces. As Aileen Wuornos, the notorious Florida murderer whose career in homicide was sensationalized when the press inaccurately called her the first female serial killer, she uncovers the lost, love-starved child cowering under the killer's hard shell. The emotional intensity of her unforgettable performance recalls Hilary Swank's Oscar-winning turn in "Boys Don't Cry," a bleak slice of American life that leaves the same bitter aftertaste as "Monster."

Complete New York Times review.

 

[Robert Anthony]

from James Berardinelli's review:

" Aside from the movie's unique approach to a story involving a serial killer (no one will think of it as a slasher film), there is another persuasive reason to see Monster - it displays one of the most impressive examples of acting by a woman in the last ten years. The process that transforms the glamorous Charlize Theron into the haggard, homely Wuornos is nothing short of astounding. And, while a measure of the credit must be given to the makeup artists, the lion's share belongs to Theron - not only for her willingness to play "ugly," but for the uncompromising approach she employs to become the character. In addition to gaining 25 pounds and letting her well-toned body sag in some unflattering areas, she perfectly adapts the attitude and mannerisms of a white trash prostitute. Theron's presence and physical appearance have been overwritten by Wuornos'. What she has accomplished here puts Nicole Kidman's Oscar-winning nose-job to shame. No actress has done a more impressive job in 2003 - the only question is whether enough people will see it for the deserved awards to be distributed. "

whoa.

 

[Peter-PP]

Isn't English spoken commonly in South Africa? I remember her saying in an interview on TV that she had to learn to speak, read and write English when she came to the US.

 

[Haggai]

I hadn't even heard of this movie until I checked Ebert's website a few days ago and found that he had it at #1 on his best movies of the year list:

http://www.suntimes.com/output/eb-fe...y-roger21.html

I certainly look forward to seeing it now that I know a bit about it.

 

[Peter Kline]

Isn't English spoken commonly in South Africa?

Many whites in South Africa speak "Afrikaans"

See here.

 

[Peter-PP]

Thanks, Peter!

That's right, she mentioned that her first language is Afrikaan. She also said that it is a lot easier language than English and when speaking English she feels like she is "blabbering" because Afrikaan invovles very few words to express or compose a sentence.

Also, for the movie Monster, she had a hard time kissing Christina because of the false teeth. With make up and extra 30 lbs gained, she was really transformed into a "monster".

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

I believe Ebert and Roeper said that it was more than the makeup that made her performance and that if she didnt win for Best Actress they should retire the award.

 

[Peter Kline]

Even reviewers that have a hard time liking the film say her performance is absolutely sensational. Should be a lock. We'll see.

 

[Michael Reuben]

It's a great performance. Unfortunately it's surrounded by a weak movie that lacks any narrative propulsion. I'm in a rush today, but I may add more later after I've thought about the film for a bit.

EDIT: Additional comments are in the 2003 Alternative Film thread.

M.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This thread is now designated the Official Discussion Thread for "Monster" please, post all comments, links to outside reviews, film and box office discussion items to this thread.

All HTF member film reviews of "Monster" should be posted to the Official Review Thread.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.


Crawdaddy

 

[Paul.S]

Enjoyed this one a lot.

Not unlike the way Tim Robbins shows you both sides of the Matthew Poncelet coin in Dead Man Walking (as soon as you feel empathy for Sean Penn's character perhaps via Sister Helen, Tim again reminds you of Poncelet's dastardly crime and vice versa), here Jenkins and Theron remarkably evoke empathy for Wuornos but then also show the excruciating death of Scott Wilson's character (one of the very few decent men in the film, the family man who offered her a shower and a room instead of pursuing sex after Wuornos said she needs money).

Loved the bit wherein she goes off on the condescending lawyer and then his receptionist. "F*ck you, Leslie!" LOL.

BT (Brian Transeau)'s score is very good. He redeems himself for having done that turkey The Core.

Loved the use of "Don't Stop Believing" in the touching, 80s-throwback roller rink sequence. Reminded me of Rocky (yes okay, Rocky and Adrian were ice skating). Happy Jenkins decided to put it over the end credits crawl also. It's fittingly unsettling that, for me, the song contributed to positive feelings I would not expect to have walking out of a film about--amongst other things--a serial killer. Interesting that Steve Perry is credited as a music consultant on the pic.

Trippy/funny/ironic coincidence: Charlize gives a handjob to the guy (Pruitt Taylor Vince) who helped Kevin Bacon abduct her on-screen daughter in Trapped.

It will be interesting to see what first-time director Patty Jenkins does next. IMDb says her two previous films were shorts. Good for her!

-p

 

[Patrick Sun]

I saw "Inside The Actors Studio with James Lipton" this Sunday that featured Charlize. She's had an interesting past, being raised in South Africa, English is her second language, and she still speaks Afrikaan with her mother when they are alone. Her mother was in attendance, and looks pretty good for her age. Her first name came from her father's name "Charles". Her last name is pronounced "Thair-in" not "Thair-on". In her native language, it's pronounced something close to "throne".

Lipton even had Charlize talk a little about her father being an alcoholic and when she was 15, he came home pretty drunk and unruly, and her mother killed him in Charlize's presence. The event was ruled to be in self-defense. Her mother re-built the family business (in construction, IIRC) in 5 years afterwards and was an inspiration to Charlize.

The LOL moment was when she was discussion how a character evolves or is created while on the set, and she got to talking about some of the physical characteristic she gave to Wuornos by relaxing her knees to use her semi-double-jointedness to give her this strange way of standing/posturing when she was Wuornos, and then went on to discuss how she pulled up her jeans real high up, camel-toe and all, for the rest of the look (besides the facial makeup to get her to look as she did in the film). She had to wear dark colored contacts, and had to have a thin layer of latex applied to her face, with facial tattooing done on the latex to get that ruddy look of the skin on her face.

Charlize has now appeared in 23 films in 8 years. And she's not just a pretty face.

 

[ZacharyTait]

Charlize has now appeared in 23 films in 8 years. And she's not just a pretty face.

I agree. I'll never be able to look at her in another movie the same way again. What she does here goes far beyond physical transformation.

I agree with Roger Ebert in that this is one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema.

 

[Mike_S]

My wife and I saw this the other night. Charlize Theron was astounding in her role. It wouldn't surprise me if she won Best Actress at the Academy Awards. All of the performances were excellent. Some posters suggest that they 'enjoyed' this film. Maybe it's this phrase, 'enjoy' that throws me. This movie was depressing with scenes of unspeakable violence. Enjoyable it was not. I was expecting this going in to the movie. How could you not? I won't be seeing it again. Just too horrific in it's content.

-Mike

 

[Haggai]

Just got back from this, pretty rough movie. Great work from Charlize, really powerful stuff. But where's the awards love for Christina? I thought she was tremendous. Someone posted a review up-thread that made the understandable comparison of this movie with Boys Don't Cry, which got Chloe Sevigny an Oscar nomination. That was well-deserved, and I think Christina was at least as good in this one.

Agreed with Paul.S on the roller-rink Journey sequence, perfect use of period music in that outstanding scene. Another good scene was in their house when Selby blames Lee for not telling her about the other murders after the first one, and Lee insists that "you knew." And we know that she (Selby) must have known--where was all that money coming from? Great scene to complicate things vis-a-vis the character who could be seen as the "moral center" of the movie, or at least the one that the audience identifies with. Definitely some audience culpability/you're-sympathizing-with-a-murderer stuff going on with that exchange, but subtly, not in-your-face. It draws you further in at that point without punishing you.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I dunno, I just felt that Selby was too damn dumb and naive, but perhaps that was the perfect foil for Lee.

 

[Haggai]

But I think that was sort of the point of the last scene I mentioned, that Selby wasn't that naive, she knew what was going on even if she wouldn't admit it to herself. Maybe it could have been portrayed better by the structure of the story, but that's what I got from it.

 

[Scott Burke]

I just saw this movie this past weekend. I can say without hesitation, this is the most depressing film I have ever seen. I have never been so affected by a film before. After this movie, I made it to the parking lot before I completely lost my composure and cried.

I have seen the different CSI type shows about her on TLC and the Discovery channel, and I thought I knew about this women. I was very wrong. I am curious to see how much was fictionalized and how much was non-fiction.

This movie is utter dispair all of the way through.