Monster

I understand now why Charlize Theron got the Oscar for this. I thought going in that she would dirty herself up a bit and act a bit more raunchily, but rarely have I seen a transformation like this. Based on some of the original footage of Aileen Wuornos in the featurette, she became this woman in looks and in character. Dubbed the first woman serial killer, she was a big, strong, foul-mouthed, psychologically devastated prostitute. Theron becomes that, and you never get a peek of the glamorous movie star. (She does seem to have a bit of trouble with the fake teeth, but it fits in well with Wuornos' fidgety nature.) The director, Patty Jenkins, adamantly portrays Wuornos as a complete woman, one who loved deeply (her partner played by Christina Ricci), heartbreakingly tried to break away from prostitution, and wholeheartedly believed she was ridding the human race of evil men. Whether all of this is the absolute truth isn't possible to know, although they relied heavily on frequent correspondence between Wuornos and a childhood friend. The truth probably isn't as important as the solidity of Jenkins' case and the power of Theron's transfiguration. Theron says at the end of the featurette that on most films there are a couple-three scenes that you brace yourself for, but that in this film it was every single one. That's the truth.

year: 2003
length: 109 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340855/combined