Even though I'd heard the buzz about Charlize Theron's performance in MONSTER in advance and she'd already been named best actress by several critics groups, she still surprised me. Leaving the theater, I couldn't help but think, "Where the hell did that come from?" I mean, it's not that before this year I thought she was a bad actress -- she had proven herself capable enough, I suppose -- but it's as though she suddenly became a veteran of her craft overnight.


The first time I remember seeing Theron in a movie was certainly memorable. TWO DAYS IN THE VALLEY... need I say more? It was clear she had the glamour and sex appeal to end up in a number of films no matter what happened, always having the option to play the "beautiful woman" if no other parts came her way. Most of the time this is exactly what she settled for (think TRIAL AND ERROR, SWEET NOVEMBER, REINDEER GAMES, etc.), but as I looked over her resume, I realized there were definitely some early glimpses of her acting chops. Playing the desirable girl who turns Tobey Maguire into a man in THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, she gave the film emotion and heart whenever Michael Caine wasn't around, and she also made us care about the characters in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE, which would have been hollow without her. I'm not implying she should have won any awards, but you can tell she was reaching for more, although for her sake I think we all need to forget about MIGHTY JOE YOUNG.

Still, none of her past performances could have prepared us for what she does in MONSTER. Everyone talks about the 40-or-so pounds she put on and the incredible makeup job that makes her look just like real-life prostitute turned serial killer Aileen Wuornos, but the truth is the surface can only get you so far. Theron's performance is good not because of the bad skin and extra weight, it's the subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances, such as the convincing intensity of her eyes and the ticks and patterns in her voice. Surely some people will find a way to be insulted by Hollywood giving another ugly role to a supermodel-esque actress; I say get over it. Theron is so good as Wuornos because in reality she's so different, both physically and economically. Adding that much weight after being thin and beautiful your entire life must have some sort of increased mental effect and make the transformation more jarring. This is a good thing when you're supposed to be playing a serial killer, not to say she does it by sacrificing the role's humanity.


As for the rest of the film, I couldn't say I enjoyed MONSTER considering the subject matter is so grim and depressing, but it's well made and admirably unapologetic. Writer and director Patty Jenkins was smart enough to know that we aren't going to feel much compassion for someone who, despite going through hell and being delt a shitty hand of cards in life, was at the end of the day a cold-blooded killer without much compassion herself. I love how the film doesn't make any decisions for the audience. Why did Wuornos kill all of these men and convince herself she was justified in doing so? That's for you to decide, but you don't have to like her or hate her or feel sorry for her to appreciate the film, and this is precisely why it works. A more compromised version of the same story would have been absolute crap, and it's refreshing to see a first-time director avoid such mistakes.

Posted January 21, 2004 | link