Monster (2003)

Director:

Patty Jenkins

Writer (WGA):

Patty Jenkins (written by)

Release Date:

30 January 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Based on a true story

Plot:

Based on the life of Aileen Wuornos, a Daytona Beach prostitute who became a serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Homosexual | Bad Girl | Redneck | Hand Job | Lesbian Couple

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 16 wins & 13 nominations

Cast

Charlize Theron	...	Aileen
Christina Ricci	...	Selby
Bruce Dern	...	Thomas
Lee Tergesen	...	Vincent Corey
Annie Corley	...	Donna
Pruitt Taylor Vince	...	Gene / Stuttering "John"
Marco St. John	...	Evan / Undercover "John"
Marc Macaulay	...	Will / Daddy "John"
Scott Wilson	...	Horton / Last "John"
Rus Blackwell	...	Cop
Tim Ware	...	Chuck
Stephan Jones	...	Lawyer
Brett Rice	...	Charles
Kaitlin Riley	...	Teenage Aileen
Cree Ivey	...	7-Year-Old Aileen

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language.

Runtime:

109 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL (DVD) | Iceland:16 | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Japan:R-15 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:18 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Casselberry, Florida, USA

Company:

Media 8 Entertainment

Trivia:

Patty Jenkins has said that she knew Charlize Theron was perfect for the role of Aileen Wuornos when she awoke to a scene of The Devil's Advocate (1997) on television. Jenkins at the time was writing her film Monster. She said that an actress that would allow a closeup of her nose running, as Theron did, would be open enough to pull off the challenging role of Wuornos.

Goofs:

After Selby returns from the gay bar, Aileen confronts her in the kitchen. Two loaves of bread are on the second shelf in the cabinet. In the next shot, with the camera behind Selby, there is nothing on the shelf. A purse is missing from the counter.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Aileen: I always wanted to be in the movies...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hostage (2005/I)

Soundtrack:

Shake Your Groove Thing

Extraordinary performances.

I watched this on video and was completely blown away. I thought Charlize Theron's performance as Aileen was extraordinary, not simply in the scenes with the men (especially the "last john", when she has to shut herself off from the humanity of the man she is about to kill) and in generally suggesting an increasingly out of control personality, but in the scenes with Shelby (Christina Ricci), right up to her near-breakdown when she is putting Shelby on the bus. Despite adverse comments from other reviewers, I consider Christina Ricci's portrayal of Shelby equally remarkable, conveying childlike naivety, seductiveness, stubbornness and growing manipulativeness very well. They dominate the film between them, but the supporting performances are fine also. I gave this 10 out of 10.