I should declare that I know almost nothing about the case of Aileen Wuornos, the real-life serial killer played by Theron in "Monster." I have no idea what liberties the movie takes with the actual story, nor do I know whether or not Theron captures Wuornos. What I do know, however, is that throughout the film, I felt like I was watching a performance so self-consciously mannered it seemed to me better suited to the stage than to the screen. But I couldn’t help being thoroughly impressed that such a beautiful and glamorous woman as Theron was so transformed in the role that she was almost unrecognizable.
Although "Monster" seems uneven to me, it has its moments. My favorite scene is where Aileen (Theron) goes to a roller rink with Selby (Ricci), and as they skate together to "Don't Stop Believin'" performed by Journey, they fall in love. Overall, I'd say the best thing about the film is its depiction of the strange codependent relationship formed between Aileen and Selby.
The location shooting in Central Florida was particularly evocative. I found the movie’s depiction of a semi-urban sprawl of convenience stores, cheap motels, and seedy bars to be both surreal and realistic. Also, the music often fit the scenes perfectly, adding an emotional texture to the film that was very effective.
I suppose writer-director Patty Jenkins wanted to make the audience understand that even though Aileen Wuornos was a serial murderer, she was still a human being. Although Aileen's final murder in the film is shown to be particularly despicable, I take it that Jenkins is trying to make the point that people should think less in terms of clichés and more humanistically about criminals.
The DVD has a 14-minute making-of featurette which gives you a chance to see and hear writer-director Patty Jenkins and lead actress Charlize Theron talk about the movie. The most interesting thing to me about this featurette was the coverage of the real Last Resort Bar, where Aileen was arrested. The DVD also has a 15-minute feature where Jenkins and composer BT talk about the music on the soundtrack. BT, who also composed some of the score for "The Fast and the Furious," talks about using the hurdy-gurdy in "Monster." I found BT to be particularly articulate and that both of these features were worth watching.
However, the bonus materials on the "Monster" DVD are disappointingly skimpy. I recommend this movie only as a rental, and then only because of the feature film’s artistic merit. "Monster" is the kind of movie that deserves a DVD with more fulsome special features than this one offers, and I can only hope that such a DVD will be made available someday. I've given a complete list of the special features on the "Monster" DVD on the next page.
