Monster

2003 Crime Drama

Model-turned-actress Charlize Theron leaves her glamorous image behind for this gritty drama, in which she plays a disturbed prostitute who becomes a serial killer. Aileen Wuornos (Theron) was a woman who survived a brutal and abusive childhood in Michigan to become a thick-skinned but emotionally damaged adult. Homeless most of her life, Wuornos subsisted by working as a street prostitute; later, when she was in Florida, down to her last five dollars and pondering suicide, she stopped into a bar for a beer. There, Aileen met Selby Wall (Christina Ricci), a woman in her early twenties who had been sent to live with relatives after her Christian parents became aware of her lesbian lifestyle. Selby is immediately attracted to Aileen, and while Aileen tells Selby she's never been in a lesbian relationship, she soon finds herself equally infatuated with her. Selby runs away from her family and moves into a cheap hotel with Aileen, who initially pays the bills by hooking. However, as their money runs low and Aileen finds herself unable to land a regular job, tensions mount between the two. One night, after a john attacks her, Aileen pulls a gun and kills the man. Although her first murder can be categorized as self-defense, Aileen's loathing for the men who pay her for sex becomes so extreme that she begins killing her customers regardless of their behavior. Meanwhile, Selby slowly becomes aware of the full extent of her lover's instability and the bloody consequences of her actions. Monster was inspired by the true story of Aileen Wuornos, whose life and death was chronicled in two documentaries by filmmaker Nick Broomfield, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, and Aileen: The Life and Death of a Serial Killer. more..

Director: Patty Jenkins

Starring: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince

Reviews

  • This is one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    26 April 2013

  • Challenges audiences with an unrelieved portrait of self-destruction and horrific violence. American movies don't get much grimmer than this.

    Kirk Honeycutt - The Hollywood Reporter

    26 April 2013

  • In Monster Theron undergoes one of the most startling transformations in the history of movies.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    26 April 2013

  • There's Theron, like a force of nature, compelling us to go beyond TV-movie supposition and look Wuornos straight in the eye. Her raw and riveting performance makes Monster an experience you won't forget.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    26 April 2013

  • Theron is nearly unrecognizable in the role. She's also astonishingly good. Obscuring the movie star has liberated the actress.

    - The San Francisco Chronicle

    26 April 2013

Awards

  • Movie of the Year

    AFI Awards (2004)

  • Best Actress in a Leading Role

    Academy Awards (2004)

  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

    BAFTA Awards (2005)

     
  • Best Actress

    Berlin International Film Festival (2004)

  • Best Actress

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2004)