Les Jones

A&E > Movie Review: Monster

In honor of Oscar night and Charlize Theron's win (which Melissa just informed me of), a quick review of Monster.

Charlize Theron is incredible. She picks up all of the body lanuguage of someone who isn't in touch with reality and who has a lot of anger. Her performance definitely makes me want to watch her other movies.

Any story told from the point of view of the bad guy risks being sympathetic to same. How well the producers compensate for that is open to your point of view. To balance out the fact that the protagonist is a lesbian, prostitute serial killer, Christina Ricci's extended family is painted as being oppressive (the dad of the house wears a wife beater), fundamentalist (they go to church and talk about God), and trashy (they have tacky furniture). All of which may have been true in real life, for all I know, but one suspects stereotypes are being paraded.

On the other hand, the film does show a progression of reprehensible behavior. Theron's first victim is a sadistic rapist, and it's a case of self-defense as shown in the movie. Gradually, she begins seeking victims when she needs money or a new set of wheels, and the moral slippery slope becomes obvious. (And in reality, Christina Ricci's real-life equivalent is active in the process of pawning the victim's possessions.) Her final victim is a well-intentioned person caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it's only then that the film allows her to be caught.