Wow, after watching the televised documentary "Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer", I was so shocked when I realised that the movie was to be released. I purchased it as I wanted to see how the documentary would relate in comparison to the film. This DVD actually shows 'The Making of a Monster' documentary: a UK exclusive! (22 mins) as an extra bonus feature.
With scenes of sex, violence, emotion, shock and horror, it was excellently produced by Clark Peterson and directed by Patty Jenkins. You can capture the emotion behind her attacks it's a really terrible story that needn't have happened.
The revelatory story is about Aileen Wuornos (Played by Charlize Theron), who is a prostitute. She was later executed in 2003 after being convicted of murdering six men in Florida, USA. While Aileen Wuornos confessed to all six murders, including that of a policeman, she claimed to have killed only in self-defense, resisting violent sexual assaults while working as a prostitute to earn the money to live off.
The film also explores some of her life as a child/teenager - which in turn led to her disgust of men and helps you gain some understanding as to why she could go onto do what she does.
Monster also shows her relationship with a young woman named Selby (Christina Ricci), which has a dramatic knock-on effect on her murder spree. It all intertwines with each other and will have you utterly shocked throughout. The stare of Aileen Wuornos literally goes straight through you as you sit and watch the story unfold. Despite the circumstances of the murders, I couldn't help but feel slightly sorry for her as a human being. What feelings she must have felt to be compelled to do what she did is unthinkable.
Charlize Theron expresses this woman's horrific life history without softening her personality at all and the performance is undoubtedly outstanding. Christina Ricci, performs very well as the outcast young girl Selby, the passion and love between them is definitely caught on camera and you very get caught up in the emotions of this real -life dramatisation.
This is certainly a performance of gripping, devastating, physical and psychological transformation and will stick in your mind for a long time after watching it. It is not to be missed. Obviously this film is rated 18 for a reason, so I suggest, that if you are weak willed, its maybe not for you as it has a lot of sexual violence in it.
• This DVD features an Audio commentary from the Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron, director Patty Jenkins and producer Clark Peterson. I particularly enjoyed this as it gave me more insight into the roles that each person played in making this real life based story. • The DVD also features a theatrical trailer (from the cinema), interactive menu, scene access, deleted and extended scenes and an exclusive interview with Patty Jenkins and the film's composer - this also offers more understanding behind Aileen's mind as a killer.
Available on both the high street and the web - you could return a good competitive price by using the Ciao search facility or any search bot. The RRP is £19.99, so use this as a guide to find a good price. It is also available in several different regions, so check compatibility before buying.
To sum up my review: Certainly a film not for the faint hearted, very emotionally shocking. An outstanding production and direction. A tremendous performance by both Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci. I would also recommend viewing the documentary as before viewing this film, which again can be purchased on DVD.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
Compelling is definitely the right word for this. It was one of those movies I can still not say whether I liked it or not... it was just so different! x
ukedge87 22.06.2005 18:09
I have heard alot about this film, I might buy it on DVD. Pete
emmy186 19.06.2005 20:59
ive wanted to see this for a while, sounds great emmy xx
![Monster [2003] [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/78491272.jpg "Monster [2003] [DVD]")
May 15th, 2005
very helpful by (100%):
