I don't know. Maybe I'm just a bit unconventional
as a movie reviewer, but I was a bit disappointed with Monster.
Monster is the story of Aileen Wuornos, who
of course, was widely publicized as "America's First Serial
Killer. Her arrest, trial and execution were widely documented,
as were numerous interviews with Wuornos, both while she was
still trying to proclaim her innocence and long after she gave
up the charade.
Charlize Theron plays Wuornos in a performance
that has been widely praised, but I wasn't entirely sold. Don't
get me wrong. Theron does a capable job, probably deserving
of her award, but she just didn't interest me. The problem is
that Aileen Wuornos seems just a bit contrived. Maybe this was
a feeling generated by the real Wuornos, too, but it doesn't
really make her character any easier to take.
More interesting to me was Wuornos' girlfriend,
Selby (Christina Ricci). Here is a woman desperate for love
and at odds with her identity. She's a lesbian and her family
is trying to "reprogram" her. Selby meets Wuornos
in a bar and is instantly attracted to her.
Wuornos has entered the bar by accident, not
realizing that it's a lesbian meeting place. Selby, meanwhile,
has been hanging out there for quite some time and we get the
impression that she has been trying to learn how to be gay.
Selby is careful with Wuornos, almost delicate, not wanting
to scare the woman off.
As I watched Monster, I constantly wanted
to know more about Selby. When the film would follow Wuornos,
it seemed far more interesting to focus on the naive little
18-year old who had become uncontrollably enamored with a serial
killer. It becomes clear that Selby knows on some level what
is going on, but she lets her love for Wuomos cloud her judgement.
It becomes obvious that neither Wuornos nor
Selby have ever had a real relationship. Wuornos has only ever
used her sexuality as a tool, meanwhile Selby has been trapped
by feelings and desires that her family have labeled as evil.
The result is that neither of them really know how to relate
to one another, resorting instead to going through the motions
and spouting cliches.
I don't think that Monster was a bad film.
Rather, I just think it's focus was misplaced. For me, the most
interesting story of the tragic lives of Aileen Wuornos and
Selby Wall simply wasn't shown.
