Monster (film)

Infobox Film
name = Monster


caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Patty Jenkins
producer = Charlize Theron
Mark Damon
Clark Peterson
Donald Kushner
Brad Wyman
writer = Patty Jenkins
starring = Charlize Theron
Christina Ricci
Bruce Dern
Lee Tergesen
music = BT
cinematography = Steven Bernstein
distributor = Newmarket Films
released = December 17, 2003 (premiere)
January 9, 2004
runtime = 109 min.
country = flagicon|USA United States
flagicon|Germany Germany
language = English
budget = $8 million
gross = $60,378,584
website = http://www.media8ent.com/m8/movies.asp?movieID=15
amg_id = 1:287615
imdb_id = 0340855

"Monster" is a 2003 biographical-crime-drama-thriller about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Aileen Wuornos was played by Charlize Theron, and her lover Selby Wall was played by Christina Ricci (Wuornos' lover's name was actually Tyria Moore, but her character's name, age, and appearance in the film were changed for legal reasons). The film was written and directed by Patty Jenkins.

Much of Theron's preparation for the role is credited to Nick Broomfield's 1992 documentary, "", of which Theron reportedly watched clips between takes.Fact|date=June 2007 Theron won several Best Actress awards for her performance.

Plot

After moving to Florida, United States, Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron), a prostitute, meets Selby Wall (Christina Ricci) in a bar. Selby takes to Wuornos almost immediately, as she likes that Wuornos is very protective of her, even though she notices that the older woman is severely disturbed. They have a small romantic encounter at a roller rink and quickly become committed to one another, and move into a motel together.

After being raped and brutalized by a client, Wuornos murders him and decides to quit prostitution. Eventually, it becomes difficult to pay the bills and Wuornos tries to find legitimate work, but finds it difficult because she has no real qualifications, is uncultured, and has a very bad temper. Desperate for money and resentful of the men who use her for sex, she commits several murders, each more brutal than the last, robbing her victims after killing them. (The last man she kills is actually not a customer, but a man merely offering Wuornos a ride home.)

Wuornos is eventually arrested and speaks to Selby one last time while in jail. Selby reveals incriminating information over the telephone and Wuornos realizes Selby is with the police. To protect Selby, Wuornos states she committed the murders alone. During Wuornos' trial, Selby testifies against her.

Aileen Wuornos is convicted and sentenced to death.

Cast

* Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos
* Christina Ricci as Selby Wall
* Bruce Dern as Thomas
* Lee Tergesen as Vincent Corey
* Pruitt Taylor Vince as Gene / Stuttering "John"
* Marco St. John as Evan / Undercover "John"
* Marc Macaulay as Will / Daddy "John"
* Scott Wilson as Horton / Last "John"
* Kane Hodder as Undercover Cop

Reception

An overwhelming majority of film critics praised "Monster". Most gave especially high praise to Theron's performance as the protagonist and her boldness in taking the role of an unattractive, mentally ill ["". Dir. Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2003.] woman. For the role, Theron gained 30 pounds and wore prosthetic teeth. Ricci's performance was also widely acclaimed, and Theron thanked Ricci during her Oscar acceptance speech.Fact|date=June 2007

Many critics called her performance (and her makeup in the film) a "transformation".cite web | title = Monster | publisher = Rotten Tomatoes | url = http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1128647-monster/ | accessdate = 2007-06-12] The film won Theron the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for and the SAG Award.

Trivia

* Charlize Theron gained 30 pounds for her role in the film; Christina Ricci gained about 10 pounds for her role in the film.
* Steve Perry from the band Journey was the music consultant.
* Charlize Theron won the academy award for playing Aileen Wuornos on February 29, 2004, Wuornos' 48th birthday.
* Aileen Wuornos, a notoriously uncooperative person, gave director Patty Jenkins access to hundreds of letters she had written and received in order to gain insight into Aileen's life. Jenkins and Theron flew to Michigan to read the letters over the course of two days; the letters filled two rooms. [cite web|url= http://www.stumpedmagazine.com/Interviews/charlize-theron.html|title= Charlize Theron Interview|accessdate= 2008-07-14|author= Edward T. Krupka|publisher= Stumped Magazine]

oundtrack

In 2004, BT released a soundtrack to the movie. The track listing is as follows: [cite web |url=http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3435 |title=Monster Soundtrack |publisher=SoundtrackNet |accessdate=2007-06-17| date=August 4, 2004] Infobox Album
Name = Monster
Type = Soundtrack
Artist = BT


Released = January 30, 2004
Recorded =
Genre =
Length =
Label = dts Entertainment
Producer =
Reviews = * SoundtrackNet Rating|4|5 [http://www.soundtrack.net/albums/database/?id=3435 link]

# "Childhood Montage"
# "Girls Kiss"
# "The Bus Stop"
# "Turning Tricks"
# "First Kill"
# "Job Hunt"
# "Bad Cop"
# "'Call Me Daddy' Killing"
# "I Don't Like It Rough"
# "Ferris Wheel"
# "Ditch The Car"
# "Madman Speech"
# "Cop Killing"
# "News On TV"
# "Courtroom"All songs written by BT.

References

External links

* [http://www.media8ent.com/m8/movies.asp?movieID=15 Official site]
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