January 12, 2004
THIS is Charlize Theron. (MONSTER)
Believe it or not, it's really her.
The movie is Monster, based on the true story of the "first woman serial killer" Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who killed many of her clients, and had an unlikely lesbian relationship with a young girl on the side. And All I have to say is WOW. I haven't seen an actress transform herself like Charlize Theron did in this movie in a LONG time. I was reading Roger Ebert's review of the movie - he saw it at a festival, not knowing anything about it, and then realized during the ending credits that Charlize Theron had played the lead role. She was completely lost into the character of Aileen Wuornos. There were only short moments in the movie when I thought I might have seen a glimpse of someone who looked like Theron.
But beyond the makeup transformation she underwent, Theron was incredible as an actress. She didn't behave simply as a vicious killer. She was a woman named Aileen, who had a crappy past, whose past experiences led her from a self-defense killing to taking her rage out on all men by killing her clients (she was a prostitute). She showed us her soft side, moments of being scared or sad, and her stubborn (even sometimes humorous) side as well. Watching her body behavior and her expressive face was amazing.
This film, yes, is about a woman serial killer who has a lesbian relationship with a girl about 10-15 years younger than she was. But it's a little bit more than that. It shows all sides of her, from a lonely and love-craved woman to a bitter and desperate killer.
Monster may not be a pleasant story, but it's one that goes deeper than just showing us a bunch of brutal killing sequences. The story is more about the person than the killings, and the actress who shows us this person did a phenomenal job.
I enjoyed Theron's performance a LOT (Oscar Oscar OS-CAR). However, I'm not sure how many times I'd re-watch the film, just because it's not really a story you'd want to spend your time with often. But now I'm definitely interested in checking out the documentary that came out last week on Aileen Wuornos.
I thought this was an excellent movie. It has a complicated message, because it seeks to sympathize with Aileen Wuornos but at the same time it doesn't shrink away from the brutality of her crimes. Through excellent writing, directing, and especially acting, it refuses to let the audience just write Wuornos off as a crazy murderer. No one lives in a vacuum, and this movie does a really great job of showing how she came to commit these crimes, and why it was necessary for her to operate under such a warped set of morals. This woman was a human being, a fact that this movie is determined to remind you of, and that is what makes it a terrific piece of film making.
Posted by: Katie on January 27, 2004 04:28 PMThis was more than a mere movie it was a life experience. Charlize Theron became Aileen Wuornos and she took us with her. We could feel the feelings that triggered the rage and insanity.
In some strange and mystical way we understood. We may not have agreed, we may have thought her insane, but we understood.
It is in that understanding that Roger Ebert states it is one of the best performances in cinematic history.
Posted by: Nancy on February 18, 2004 04:55 PMTheron's performance in "monster" was absolutely amazing, to say the least. Not only did she transform herself into something I never thought possible for her (she is way too gorgeous), she absorbed the entirety of Aileen from the makeup and 30 extra pounds she committed to gain to every subtle (and not-so-subtle), sometimes masculine, movement obviously not innate to herself. I have never seen someone act as far from herself as Charlize did in this movie and that was an oscar-worthy performance she pulled off. OSCAR!!
Posted by: Aria on February 29, 2004 02:51 PMI finally got to sit and watch this movie! I could not belive it was Charlize. She deserves and extra Oscar! What a performance!!! WOW. I am amazed how her transformation took place and only once I saw a glimpse of her that was the beautiful woman she is. Definately 5 star rating!
Posted by: Gyps on June 21, 2004 10:32 AM