Monster is closely based on the life of serial-killer Aileen Wuornos who was executed to death (by lethal injection) on October 9, 2002. Helmed and scripted by first-time director Patty Jenkins, this is by no means a feminist movie but rather, a low-key love story chronicling Wuornos' (Charlize Theron) lesbian affair with the innocently naive Selby (Christina Ricci). By movie's end, audiences are left wondering if Wuornos' involvement with the latter might be the catalyst that brought about her downfall, or whether such a fate is inevitable for someone as challenged by circumstances as Wuornos was.
I've always been a fan of Charlize (Mighty Joe Young, Cider House Rules)whose works have never really been considered spectacular up til this point. For this movie, she had to put on 30 pounds, shave off her eyebrows and add prosthetics on her face to look the part, thus literally transforming into Aileen Wuornos. In less able hands, these make-up efforts would have been in vain but Charlize was so good that her portrayal had garnered her numerous awards including the Golden Globe and Oscar for Best Actress, hence elevating her promptly to A-list star status. Not bad at all for an actor who has always been more well-known for her pretty face than her acting talents.
Monster is not your typical Hollywood fare; it had a meagre budget of US$5mill and was filmed in 28 days. Charlize Theron herself actually worked for free... but what lent gravitas to her portrayal (as I learnt afterwards) was the fact that her mother, in self-defence, shot her father dead when she was fifteen. Thanks to her, and Patty Jenkins, Aileen Wuornos (as seen thru the movie) is not the bloodthirsty psychopath society had made her out to be but rather, a victim of cimcumstance and an object of sympathy. my ratings ~ 4.2/5 stars!
Ironically, the day when Charlize won her oscar was 29th FEb, same date as Aileen's birthday. It is abit sad that the media had made tremendous hype about Charlize's swan-into-ugly-duckling transmutation but ignored Aileen's story almost altogether... The film itself only cursorily examines Aileen's background, choosing instead to concentrate on her need to be loved and to have a family, and for all those things which she didnt have in her life.
Born to divorced teenage parents and given to her grandparents after childbirth, it seemed that Aileen's life had been doomed from the start. There were rumours that her grandfather was actually her father, and that he in turn abused her as a child. Her father was a sex offender who committed suicide in prison when she was 13. She had an incestuous relationship with her brother, and was forced to live in the woods like a wild animal from the age of 13, before turning to prostitution.
Prior to her murder spree, Aileen had already commmited various offences ranging from petty theft to car robbery, to speeding and drunk driving. Aileen's attitude toward authority had always been belligerent and aggressive. So it seems that all that Aileen was suited for, was a life of crime. And prostitution.
Up 'til the time of her execution, Aileen had all the symptoms of a psychotic; She was convinced her mind was controlled by radio waves and believed she was going to be taken off in a space ship to join Jesus Christ. Moreover, she never showed any remorse for her killings, firmly believing that she was ridding the streets of evil men.
There is something poignant and bitter about Aileen's life story. Here was someone who was bereft of a normal and loving upbringing; whose life from the start consisted of nothing but abuse and violence. Aileen's trajectory slide to destruction is thus unavoidable. Did the law take this into consideration when she was charged with the death penalty? Was Aileen truly responsible for her actions, no matter how heinous they seem to be, especially since it was obvious that her sanity was in question right til the end?
On the other hand, even if she should escape the death penalty, was her ruined life salvageable at all? Was there still room for penance for her? Yet in 2001, Wuornos herself, in a letter to Florida's assistant attorney, wrote, "I myself am under a rage that only continues to burn, and has for years, that obviously I'd kill again - and in pure hatred, as I did those men."
Perhaps, the question that begs answering is this: Was Aileen a monster by choice, or by default?
