Monster
Directed by Patty Jenkins
Starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern
The film has some problems, many of which are compensated
by Theron's strong performance. Her performance in itself
is worth seeing, and she almost makes this a good movie,
but not quite.
What about Theron's performance? It was very well-done,
without question, but I don't think she quite deserves all
the praise she has received. I think a lot of that praise
has to do with her look more than the performance itself,
and the look certainly impressed me too. She didn't look
like the beautiful Charlize Theron that we're accustomed
too. I didn't see Aileen, but instead saw an uglier Charlize
the whole time. I doubt whether this performance would be
heralded by so many if it were performed by a less attractive
actress, which makes me wonder why they cast Theron to begin
with. I know, it sounds like I'm criticizing Charlize when
I'm really not. She was brilliant at times and is definitely
in my top 5 of the year, but this performance is being touted
as legendary (like Swank's Boys Don't Cry), which is not
the case.
Theron's performance did hide many problems in the writing
and character development. In fact, I found it to be a rather
poor portrayal of a serial killer, and it unfortunately
focused more on the person and less on the crimes she committed,
resulting in a sloppy narrative. At times it seemed almost
incidental that this character was killing people. It also
seemed to hold back on really coming to understand why she
did these things. It successfully showed that she was in
pain, had a hard life, and we understood why she killed
the first time, but not why she continued. Was it for money,
for a car, to punish the assholes of the world? The filmmakers
had such a great story, but they seemed to stop short when
it came to turning it into a great movie.
Score: 6/10