Monster (2003)
Directed by: Patty Jenkins
Written by: Patty Jenkins
Starring: Annie Corley, Bruce Dern, Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Lee Tergesen, Scott Wilson
MONSTER (2003)
Written and Directed by Patty Jenkins
Released on Limited Edition Blu-Ray by Second Sight Films
MONSTER tells the story of real life serial killer, Aileen Wuornos, who was sentenced to death in 1990 and executed for her crimes in 2002. With actress Charlize Theron in the role of Aileen, the film follows her life as a highway hooker who falls in love with a young woman named Selby Wall. Trying to provide for the pair, Aileen hits the streets to make some cash but unfortunately finds herself getting into the car with a sadistic client who brutally attacks and rapes her. After fighting to escape and managing to shoot and kill the john, she stops prostituting and attempts to forge a proper career. However, due to her lack of skills, education and career history, she’s rejected by every job she applies for. With money running out, she returns to prostitution to make ends meet. After the trauma of her first kill and the attack that proceeded it, Aileen begins to force the idea that all men who pull over for her services have the intent to do her harm and rather than wait for them to attack, she’ll make the first move. Riding around in her victims’ cars and stealing their cash alleviates Aileen’s money woes temporarily but as the death toll rises, she finds herself running out of time as the net closes in on her.
Patty Jenkins’ debut feature film, which she also penned, is a perfect example of gritty, indie filmmaking that allows its story, script and characters to drive the plot forward. In what is a very small cast in the grand scheme of things, MONSTER focuses on Charlize Theron’s world-weary hooker Aileen Wuornos and Christina Ricci’s workshy, naïve girlfriend Selby as their relationship blossoms before coming to a definite end when Aileen’s crimes come to light.
Nothing is ever truly black and white in this world and the same goes for the crimes of Aileen Wuornos. MONSTER never justifies why she committed the murders not does it turn her into a pity party but it does highlight how Aileen was a victim of circumstance from a very young age, suffering various trauma which no doubt shaped her life and led her onto the path of hooking to make a living. Theron’s voiceover indicates that having someone to love is all that Aileen wanted in life and having found that she wanted to do whatever it took to keep it. A desperation to earn money to survive also seems to be a driving factor and we see in the film how the lack of repercussions from the first kill made it easier to murder and rob punters of their wheels and coin in a bid to maintain a life with her partner. This love would endure for Wuornos, even admitting on a wire-tapped phone call that she and she alone was responsible for the deaths and never holding a grudge against her lover for her part in prosecuting her.
When it comes to the casting of the film, I don’t think Patty Jenkins could have chosen a better actress to fulfil the role. Charlize Theron is phenomenal as Aileen Wuornos, encapsulating both a vocal and physicality to match Wuornos’. Theron becomes the character without turning her into a caricature, adopting her swagger, hair flick and expressive use of her eyes and face in a way that feels natural and not overplayed. Taking on the role of a real life person is never an easy feat but Theron manages to transform herself into someone completely different and, having watched documentaries on Wuornos, appears to have embodied the woman as much as could be for an honest portrayal as part of Patty Jenkins’ screenplay.
Christina Ricci as Aileen’s girlfriend Selby Wall is a fictional character rather than relying on portraying the real life girlfriend of Aileen’s, Tyria Moore. Ricci plays Selby as a shy, wide-eyed young lesbian woman who’s found herself punished and made to stay with her aunt due to making a pass at a girl in her home town. Her strictly religious father has sent her away in the hope she’ll recant her gay urges, but Selby has no intentions of retreating into the closet nor converting into a heterosexual. Her petite stature, lack of awareness and sheltered life is in contrast to that of the taller, older and more worldly-experienced Aileen who knows just how wicked the big, bad world can be but together they find happiness. As Aileen takes on the role of provider for the two, it’s hard to like Selby as she takes advantage of the life that Aileen has provided for her, even spending all of her money without ever lifting a finger herself. Selby’s whining that she’s hungry and has no money to go out and enjoy themselves really appears to put the pressure on Aileen to come up with a solution to their problems. In many ways, the relationship feels very one-sided with Selby enjoying the good time with Aileen but perhaps not caring as much for Aileen as she does for her. Whilst Aileen continues to prostitute herself to earn money for them both, it’s never suggested that Selby has any involvement in the deaths other than knowing about them further down the line.
As a movie based on a true story, MONSTER knocks it out of the ballpark. Working to a $1.5 million budget, the filmmakers took advantage of what the original Daytona Beach and Florida locations had to offer and this helps to bring a stark reality to it all. From the busy highway where Aileen flags down potential punters to hanging out at The Last Resort biker bar, a favourite haunt of hers, we get the impression that we’re seeing this woman’s life unfold in front of us in a real, living world rather than one recreated just for film. Little scenes, such as Aileen washing in a gas station restroom, adds depth to the character of Aileen and who she was; a survivor who did whatever she needed to do to get by. As we see later on in the film, this included making bad choices which ultimate had repercussions.
Rather than a two dimensional telling of a serial killer which focuses on the killings, this is a film that focuses on the person first and foremost to try and understand the why rather than focusing on the how. It’s done in a respectful way that I think attempts to balance the narrative as not all killers, be it serial, gangster or otherwise, are wicked 100% of the time. They have lives outside of those moments, and this is done in a compassionate way in MONSTER without diluting the seriousness of her crimes nor turning her into a victim to parallel those she killed.
Almost twenty years on from its original release, MONSTER continues to be one of, if not, the very best films put to screen which deals with the topic of a real life murderer. It has heart and feels human, breathing life into all characters, from the main characters to the victims, in a story that doesn’t attempt to win you over or sway your opinion but seemingly gives the facts as straight as it can without the exaggerated sensationalist scandal that Hollywood that can sometimes tarnish stories with.
Rating: 
Second Sight Films have released a limited edition Blu-Ray of MONSTER packed with goodies and special features including a rigid slipcase with new artwork by Daniel Benneworth-Gray, six collector’s art cards and a soft cover book with new essays by Anton Bitel, Hannah Strong and Shelagh Rowan-Legg.
As for the film itself, it looks better than ever on Blu-Ray, allowing you to see the gritty detail of the sets, locations and makeup that went into creating this story.
As mentioned, the Blu-Ray disc comes with a selection of extras, including:
Archival audio commentary with Monster writer/director Patty Jenkins, actress/producer Charlize Theron and producer Clark Peterson – In this commentary, the trio break down the scenes, including experiences when shooting, how the scene was written and the thought process behind it. Patty Jenkins also talks about the score and use of music in the film, such as Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ during the roller disco scene. For anyone who appreciates the film itself or filmmaking in general, it’s enlightening listening to Patty Jenkins, who describes what she had in mind when visualising sequences, as well as Charlize Theron’s approach to various scenes, such as her playing with the mailbox when leaving Selby’s place for the first time. These little insights provide much more background into how to convey certain emotions and atmosphere in a movie.
The commentary is never dull with the three having a good rapport with each other. I especially enjoyed hearing the various tales about shoot including how Charlize and Christina Ricci couldn’t skate prior to the roller disco scene and had to have a crash course with Patty.
Making A Murderer: a new interview with director Patty Jenkins (47 mins 41 secs) – In this new interview, Patty Jenkins talks about being a true crime buff and how seeing the Aileen Wuornos case on TV at the time had intrigued her, especially seeing that Aileen’s girlfriend Tyria Moore (who she recharacterised as as a fictitious Selby Wall in the film), turned state witness to aid the prosecution and conviction of Aileen. She felt there was more to Aileen’s story than her just being a woman who murdered seven men and started writing to Aileen.
Patty describes writing the script with Charlize Theron in mind to play Aileen and how she went through over 7000 letters that Aileen had written during her incarceration before being executed. She talks about how she wanted to tell the story as truthful as possible based on the letters she had read, with compassion but without glorifying the crimes that she had committed.
It’s interesting to see Patty’s take on the case and how she decided to dive into Aileen’s story to discover how she had got to this point and explore whether it was as cut and dry as the media led us to believe.
Producing a Monster: a new interview with producer Brad Wyman (20 mins 17 secs) – In this chirpy new interview with Brad Wyman, he talks about how he first met Patty Jenkins at a AFI filmmaker connect meetup which was a bit like speed dating where they could sit and pitch to each other. He talks about how Patty wanted him as her producer from the get-go and even after he tried passing it along to someone he thought was better suited, she was adamant that he was the right man for the job.
Brad discusses the casting process as well as the makeup artist and teeth tech before getting onto the topic of the film’s financing through video companies and international agents. His face truly lights up when reminiscing at how well the finished film performed at festivals before securing indie cinema/art house screenings which eventually led to major theatrical screenings, The hit reception of the film and Charlize’s performance as Aileen led to numerous awards.
Light From Within: a new interview with DoP Steven Bernstein (44 mins 5 secs) – Steven Bernstein talks about his career and how he got started in the film business, having originally been interested in writing. Once he discovered how film could viscerally emotionally impact audiences, he was hooked and wanted to become a cinematographer. He talks about his start in music videos and how that medium evolved from a band playing to telling a story within the video and getting creative to ensure that the music video stood out from the rest. From there, he jumped to commercials where they would experiment with all sorts of effects, filters and lenses to get the right creative for the job. This put him in good stead for his venture into feature films.
Steven discusses working on a variety of movies and his experience with other filmmakers and DoPs before getting involved with the indie movie, Monster. His praise for Patty Jenkins and her script shows how much admiration he had for the project.
Monster: The Vision and Journey (25 mins 27 secs) – This featurette is packed full of behind-the-scenes clips and interviews with Patty Jenkins and Charlize Theron from the shoot. It shows them visiting the place where Aileen lived and The Last Resort bar she liked to drink in where they talked to people who knew Aileen.
During the interviews, Charlize talks about how she tried to understand Aileen when getting into character and we also see make-up Toni G. going through the process of making Charlize look like Aileen.
There’s also a brief section about Selby where Christina Ricci talks about her character and her approach to filmmaking which differs from others.
It’s great to see how much depth Patty Jenkins went into researching Aileen and how she was so specific in what she wanted at times to capture and convey a particular moment in a scene.
Based On A True Story: The Making of Monster (14 mins 42 secs) – This particular special feature is pretty much Monster: The Vision and Journey but edited differently. It features a lot of the same behind-the-scenes clips and dialogue, though there may be the odd new insight.
Deleted and Extended Scenes with optional director’s commentary (17 mins 19 secs) – Includes the Dream Sequence, which was cut from the film and rightly so in my opinion as it doesn’t quite fit; Welcome To My World extended scene; News Flash deleted scene (again, unnecessary to have been included); Job Interview outtakes; and full performance of the Bus Station scene.
Monster: Evolution of the Score (15 mins 45 secs) – In this archival interview, Patty Jenkins and composer BT talk about how they collaborated to create the music for Monster. Having previously composed the score for The Fast and The Furious, BT explains how he kept getting job offers for similar types of movie which he turned down before landing with Monster. He was taken by the script and Patty Jenkins’ vision.
BT discusses the approach to creating the score, designing it in immersive 5.1 surround sound, and how he constructed the music for specific sections such as death scenes. It’s incredibly insightful to hear how BT methodically approached certain parts in order to convey a certain feeling or emotion. It makes you appreciate the impact of that music even more. It was also interesting to hear what instruments he decided would be suitable to include, such as the hurdy gurdy.
Original Trailer (2 mins 15 secs)
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