Introduction
Patty Jenkins features film debut was the 2003 biographical crime drama “Monster.” Jenkins not only wrote the film but also directed it and starred Charlize Theron, who underwent a striking transformation for the role, winning an Oscar for her performance. Theron played Aileen Wuornos, a real-life prostitute who was executed for the murder of seven men in 2002; the film chronicles her life between 1989 and 1990. Christina Ricci plays Wuornos’s girlfriend Selby Wall, who is an altered version of Wuornos’s real-life partner, Tyria Moore.
The film attempts to move away from the portrayal of Wuornos being a “monster” and instead humanizes her by portraying the media’s narrative through focusing on her abusive history, mental instability, and her attempts at finding love and meaning. Monster is an emotionally raw, gritty film that serves to make the viewer confront the conflict of being a victim/perpetrator and the many layers of this title.
Plot Summary
The movie opens with Aileen Wuornos, a homeless woman near the brink of suicide, sitting under an overpass in Florida. Aileen, who had worked as a street prostitute since her teenage years, starts to reflect on her life story as she contemplates her life. This narrative, however, takes a turn for the better when she meets Selby Wall, a sheltered young woman who, due to her sexuality, was sent by her religious parents to live with her relatives, enabling her to escape her puritanical household.
Aileen and Selby might be different people, but they do share a quick and passionate emotional connection. While Selby is naive and looking for love, Aileen is tough and aggressive, but is desperate for a connection. She goes as far as promising to leave her dangerous lifestyle for Selby.
Aileen tries to go straight by searching for a legitimate job, but her criminal record, education, and her very persona, give her limited pathways to pursue. As during this stage in her life Aileen and Selby are running out of finances, they are also staring eviction in the face. It is after this point when Aileen reluctantly turns back to sex work. During one of her routines, she is picked up by a violent “john,” who severely beats and sexually assaults her. In a burst of anger and panic, she shoots and kills him with his own weapon. While she does initially rationalize the act as self-defense, this incident sparks a domino effect of killings.
Aileen persists in contacting and booking clients. In her mind, Aileen is providing weapons and money to dangerous men, and by her own twisted logic, she is just “protecting” herself. The inner chaos slowly turns into uncontainable anger, and her wish to safeguard Selby fuels her spiral further out of control.
Selby starts to feel the consequences of the crimes she committed when law enforcement starts to close in amid the killings happening. Eventually, she decides to work with the police and testify against Aileen, who is then arrested, tried, and sentenced to death. In the last few scenes of the movie, Aileen is writing a letter to Selby, accepting full responsibility for the crimes he committed in order to protect Selby from the consequences of the love she had for Aileen.
Performances
Widely regarded as one of the greatest performances of the 21st century, the role of Aileen earned Charlize Theron an Academy Award and several others. Known for her roles in romantic comedies and for her beauty, Theron took a complete 180 for this role. The actress gained considerable weight, donned a set of false teeth, and changed her voice and posture as Theron portrayed Wuornos with unflinching realism and her performance goes far beyond the physical. In fact, her performance goes far beyond the physical; she brings pain, depth, and humanity to a character who could have too easily been a mere caricature.
Theron captures Aileen’s volatility, desperation, and endless yearning for love. Moreover, her portrayal of Wuornos as a deeply damaged person who is also a woman capable of brutal violence does not glamorize her suffering. Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress and received accolades from The Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, as well as several critics associations, showcasing the overwhelming praise she received.
Christina Ricci as Selby offers a compelling balance to the intensity that Theron brings to the film. Ricci’s Selby comes off as insecure and emotionally immature, often turning a blind eye to the reality of Aileen’s actions. Her performance, which is both gentle and fragile, illustrates the emotional backdrop of the relationship that is central to this film.
Direction and Writing
Patty Jenkins’s direction is poised and fully controlled. It stems from the character and not from technical elements. There is no spectacle for the sake of spectacle. Aileen’s emotional state is the focus of the film, and Jenkins employs the camera to Aileen’s psyche with close attention. Rather than framing Aileen’s life as a justification for Aileen’s actions, Jenkins weaves Aileen’s life as an attempt to understand the impact of trauma, marginalization, and poverty on one’s morals.
There is warmth and compassion in the film’s writing, but Jenkins is not apologetic. Jenkins captures the complexity of Aileen, embodying the elements of grit—her delusion, trauma, and shattered faith in better days. Aileen and Selby exchange words that are emotionally raw, giving the audience a sense of the depth of the intimacy that serves as solace and as a weapon of self-destruction.
Topics
- Desperation And Survival
“Monster” encapsulates survival in Aileen’s life story. The societal neglect and abuse she endured, coupled with homelessness, took a drastic toll on her life. Prostitution emerges from her desperate need to “survive” in a societal landscape that offers her no aid. The violent acts she commits stem from inner turmoil, a life filled with chronic fear, and not the mindless cruelty we often attribute such violent acts to.
- Dependency And Love
Through Aileen and Selby’s relationship, the film portrays a tragic yet mesmerizing love affair. Selby, to Aileen, transforms into a beacon of hope and a reason for change. The desire to achieve a better life together morbidly shifts their bond into a codependent and obsessive one. Aileen becomes willing to do anything, from deceit to murder, to maintain their life together.
- Sympathy And Judgement
While Aileen is branded a monster by the media and legal personnel, the film seeks to portray her humanity, filled with pain. The film approaches the question of her reason for violent acts and, instead of excusing them, dives into deeper societal injustices that stem from how the vulnerable and marginalized are treated. “Monster” confronts the audience to deal with the discomfort that arises when feeling compassion for a person who is deemed terrible.
- Feminism and Margaret
Gender power dynamics and vulnerabilities are also issues explored in the film. Aileen is a victim of exploitation. She is a prey of men who try to either sexually dominate or physically abuse her. While the murders Aileen commits are inhumane, they arise from her thwarted attempts to seize control in a dominion that strips her of all influence. Aileen’s actions, albeit criminal, represent a deranged version of defiance.
Reception and Legacy
Following the release of the film, it received widespread critical acclaim. Obradors and Ashwell claimed that “Monster was a showcase of emotional honesty, the power of Theron’s performance, Jenkins’s assured direction, and the film’s raw yet sensitive treatment of difficult yet complex issues.” They further claimed it was one of the best films of the 2000s, as it was included in numerous year-end ‘Best Of’ lists.
“I was in a time in my life where physically transforming into a monster for a role received a lot of media attention,” Theron stated. She called this a remarkabl mark in her career since she became known for something besides the romantic roles given to her. It also marked the start of Patty Jenkins’ career as she became one of the most prominent female directors in Hollywood after she went on to direct Wonder Woman.
Conclusion
A film such as monster is hard to digest due to the way it highlights some of the painful truths about violence, trauma, poverty, as well as the limits of compassion and empathy. The film explores the lengths to which one can go to seek love and the potential to distort such emotions after experiencing a lifetime of agony.
A crime saga that is intertwined with the marvellous performance by Charlize Theron and the thoughtful direction by Patty Jenkins. The film monster goes beyond the nature of the crime and explores the films focus on the human condition in a very profound way. The film monster does not seek sympathy, however, it does seek acceptance and in turn does reframe the narrative of a monster.
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