Sympathy for the Monster

my rating: Nathan's rating:

I was a little surprised that Nathan suggested that we see Monster, since it's getting critical acclaim and a fairly limited release. He doesn't usually care for "cinema". But you don't look a gift whore in the mouth, eh?

That kind of callous, misogynist joke was un-called-for, of course, but it seemed appropriate in the context of this movie, which is about a woman whose whole life seems to have been full of that kind of crap. To the point that you can actually understand, and even have sympathy for her... despite the fact that she murdered seven people.

The movie is based on the story of Aileen "Lee" Wuornos, a serial killer, and her girlfriend, called "Selby" in the film (Tyria Moore in real life). Charlize Theron plays Lee, and disappears so completely into the role that Nathan - who didn't recognise the name - had no idea that he'd ever seen her before, in various "pretty young woman" roles. (He recognised Christina Ricci from Casper, and was surprised to see her like this.) I've seen some clips of the real Wuornos, and Theron's almost-perfect recreation of her (even down to her appearance and mannerisms) is downright spookly.

The relationship between the two is portrayed in rather unflattering terms. Once upon a time I would've just cringed at yet another movie featuring a "straight" woman who "turns lesbian" and then proceeds to shoot holes in men with hard-ons. I think we've gotten to the point where a movie can tackle that subject matter without being homophobic in the process. Dysfunctional as the relationship is, you can understand what drew these two women together, and why they needed each other. It's almost sweet.

Just as importantly, the movie makes it possible to understand what brought Wuornos to the point where she started killing men. A lifetime of being shit on (figuratively) and fucked (literally) by them, made her needy enough to fall for the only person to show her actual love (Selby), and finally being beaten and raped by one of her johns made her resentful enough to start taking revenge.

At least that's how the movie tells it. Dead men tell no tales, so it's impossible to know exactly what happened in each of the killings. The movie implies that the first was a case of very justifiable homicide which inadvertantly taught her that she could get away with it, that along the way she was somewhat selective about whom she killed (such as sparing a nervous guy who'd never hired a prostitute before), but by the time of her last killing she'd dropped her standards from "he deserves it" to "I can't let him live".

I've done a little online research into the story of Wuornos and Moore, and there are some signficant disagreements between that info and what's in the movie (especially the difference between Selby and Moore). There are a couple of genuinely documentary movies on the subject available if that's what you're looking for. But taken on the level of a plausible character study, this movie is first-rate. I may never again look at a serial killer in the same way.