Monster (2003) from Johnny Web (Uncle Scoopy; Greg Wroblewski) and Tuna

Scoop's notes, written before the film was released theatrically, in white:

Maybe you've never heard of this movie. Maybe you never will. But when Charlize Theron picks up her Oscar in the Spring, you can tell everyone you read about it first right here.

First of all, former glamour girls or lightweight actresses who take chances and accept major dramatic parts in non-glamorous roles ALWAYS win the Oscar. Halle Berry, Hillary Swank, Nicole Kidman, and so forth. So Charlize would win even if she weren't really that good.

But second of all, she really WAS that good.

It's a biopic. Charlize plays a highway prostitute named Aileen Wuornos who became a serial killer, and was finally executed in 2002 after 12 years on Death Row. I don't know much about the real Wuornos, but if we accept the film's version, she worked on the fringes of society for years as a low-rent, completely heterosexual hooker, and she had no major episodes of violence. After she met a lesbian and fell in love, she started to undergo some intense psychological changes. This period of her life happened to include an episode in which one of her johns tortured and nearly killed her. In fact, he may have intended to kill her, but she managed to turn the tables on him and killed him instead.

After that incident, she became scared and tried to leave prostitution, but she came to realize that there was no legal way for her to earn a living, and she became more and more embittered by her efforts to get out of the life. That first violent incident, which was essentially self-defense, seemed to rekindle some bitter childhood memories, and to trigger some long-suppressed violent impulses which, once freed, burst from her uncontrollably. She had soon killed several other men, some of them with no justification at all. There is a particularly heart-rending scene when she kills a good samaritan who offers to help her climb out of prostitution.

Theron slipped into the role by making the greatest physical transformation since DeNiro played Jake LaMotta. (Pictures to right)

She gained 30 pounds. Then the special effects wizards transformed her further with make-up and contacts. Finally, and perhaps most important, she assumed a completely new voice and body language. Roger Ebert called it one of the greatest performances in the history of cinema.

Mr Ebert also chose this as his #1 picture of the year. I was impressed by it, but not so much that I'd consider it in the "film of the year" class. I do agree with him on Charlize's performance.

Roger Ebert called Charlize Theron's Oscar winning performance "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema." After watching it, I have to say that he greatly understated the case. This is a biopic about a highway hooker in Florida who ended up killing 7 johns and was eventually executed. The film makers took the trouble to walk the areas she walked, to meet her friends, and to read all of her correspondence from prison, which was mainly remembrances of her life. In short, they really did their homework. They didn't try to make her a sympathetic character, but they did show what events and conditions in her life severely limited her choices to the point that she committed the murders, all in an effort to live a real life with her first female lover.

This attention to detail, and serious research into what made the woman what she was would have resulted in a better than average serial killer film, and no more. That brings me back to Charlize Theron's performance. Had I not known it was Charlize I was watching, I never would have guessed it was her. It wasn't just the 30 pounds she put on, the fake facial skin, contacts or false teeth, it was the fact that she became a completely different person, with different body rhythms, different speech patterns, and a different voice. From the few clips of the real Aileen Wuornos included in the special features, Wuomos is the character Theron became. The film was shot in the actual physical locations from Wuornos life. If the film has a moral stance, it is that, when people pushed down for long enough, they have no other choice than to commit horrid acts. However, the film doesn't excuse the acts.

I watch a lot of serial killer films because they normally have at least some nudity, and this is head and shoulders above the others, primarily because of Charlize Theron. I honestly had no idea she had this kind of talent. With the Best Actress statuette under her arm, she should pull some more big roles now, and I am looking forward to seeing them.