re:mote voices

Title: Monster
Cast: Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern
Director: Patty Jenkins

the film monster is based on the story of aileen wuornos, a street prostitute, who killed 7 men, becoming hailed as america's first female serial killer, before being executed a couple of years ago. charlize theron takes on the role of aileen, and she does so in a pretty serious fashion - putting on weight, holding her face in a permanent grimace that effects her appearance and voice. from the one picture i've seen of wuoronos, theron is pretty convincing in the part, such that one could easily forget that it was this actress at all - especially given that one of the trailers before this showing was for another film with theron as she normally looks.

the film provides some suggestion of aileen's past - abuse at home and school, and how from that she became a prostitute. however the narrative centres on aileen at her lowest point. a couple of drinks short of killing herself, aileen goes into a gay bar, with interest only in those last few drinks. however it is here that she meets shelby, played by christina ricci, a somewhat butch and faltering young lesbian. despite everything the two women take to each other, finding an unexpected hope.

however the next night aileen goes out to make some money she is beaten and raped, with the result that she kills the man to escape. the combination of the hope offered by shelby and the fatal despair of murder throw aileen entirely - going from suicidal to all over the place. the narrative provides a certain sympathy for aileen and a certain explanation for how events escalated. in amongst this the motivations of aileen and shelby, and the pressures they exert on each other retain a certain ambiguity, perhaps revealing a naivety and vulnerability behind it all.

this is another quirky role for ricci, who continues to avoid being pinned down to dull roles like so many other actresses. however this seems to be a significant departure for theron, who's commitment extends to being co-producer on top of her physical/mental contribution, undoubtedly the result that is monster must have paid off for the actress.