MONSTER review

It is so easy to objectify a beautiful actress. Easy to see them as a sexpot, to cast them continually to serve as a fantasy for the audience, an ideal for women to strive for and a babe for hard up guys everywhere.

Somehow I missed Charlize Theron’s debut in CHILDREN OF THE CORN III, but I was at that sneak preview of 2 DAY IN THE VALLEY, I remember being blown away by how beautiful and charismatic Charlize was. That sheen of sweat evenly glistening over that taut fit Amazon body. Everytime she hit the screen, my jaw was on the floor. YUMMY! I noticed her in THAT THING YOU DO!, and thought – YUMMY! She’s played dames in need of a strong man, hot sexual women and she’s had her turn at tears. Hell, I love Charlize Theron on screen. I thought she had sufficient range for a gorgeous actress, but never really looked too far past the exterior. That is certainly a curse that goes with being a beautiful blonde actress.

A friend of mine once told me a story about how Charlize was once in a bar in Hollywood, frustrated, a bit tipsy and angry that all she would ever be in Hollywood is a pretty face. Yeah, yeah, I know… Cry me a River. Many of us would sacrifice neighbors on either side for that type of genetic perfection, but as Veruca Salt put it, “I want it now, daddy.”

That’s what I thought when I heard the story. Then I went to see MONSTER last night. The press screening in Austin had conflicted with family obligations and I had heard that while Charlize was apparently tremendous in the film, the movie wasn’t up to her performance. I’ve been quite busy with my secret alternative identity recently and the films that have been coming out this year haven’t really been getting me anxious to write or even see them. Last film I saw before this in a theater was TORQUE and it was so ludicrously awful that I retreated into the world of DVD – a great place to spend most of January in my opinion. However, last night… I wanted to see a movie. And MONSTER beat out THE COOLER as my choice.

Upon leaving the theater, Charlize Theron had forced me to reconsider everything about her as an actress. You see, this isn’t just a case of an actress gaining weight and getting funked out by make up. This is a great performance. The way she walked, held herself, the way she talked and the way she made her self beautiful even as she was as homely as they come. Charlize owns this role. When I saw her name on the film as Producer, I understood. This wasn’t a role that she was ever meant to play, she demanded it, fought for it, sacrificed for and I’m willing to bet she worked harder to nail this performance than she has ever worked before. With the role, she has become a world-class performer capable of a range never really considered before this part.

The character is as far away from Benoni, South Africa as you could ever dream possible. No sign of that adorable accent, none of the upright posture, the shoulders are not arched back, she isn’t holding herself like a star. No, she doesn’t care that the camera is watching, that the other characters may judge her, this character is a broken human being at the edge of suicide when we meet her. $5 from death.

That opening montage about dreams, hopes and personal myths we create about destinies… well, it just hurts. Here’s a little girl that always had her dreams stomped on, who has never been lucky. There’s a throwaway line at one point where she states that it must’ve been when she was thirteen, cuz she’d just put that baby up for adoption. Yeah, she’s got a hard life ahead of her.

Men have treated her as one would pray never to be treated. She’s had no consideration, no real kindness and life just gets tougher and tougher. They beat her, violate her, rape her and somehow she had always continued with life. Uneducated and developing her own private faith… her own understanding with God. When she meets Christina Ricci’s character, a young lost lesbian trying to find some connection, some direction in life, some love. Ricci’s Selby was raised in a family that would condemn every non-white hetero lifestyle there was, so she ran away. She struck out in the “real world” and was a few days away from crawling back to the “righteous family” she had run from.

Two lost souls in a gay bar hoping for anything to change in their lives.

Ricci sees something beautiful in Charlize’s Aileen… a kindred spirit, someone who also seemed alone and without companionship. Watching their initial meeting, you can see how they began, how the attraction formed. You see, Aileen was straight, but there was a tenderness and an innocence in the way Ricci’s Selby treated her. Selby didn’t see a cheap street whore, she saw a beautiful lonely person, a person that Aileen had forgotten existed. When they share the bed that night, and Selby asks if she can touch Aileen’s face… and you see Ricci’s tiny little hand caress her cheek as Selby falls asleep… you can see the shock on Aileen’s face. How long had it been since someone respected her. How long since she just slept with someone… someone with no expectations, no demands, someone that wanted her because she was fun to be with? That’s a powerful thing.

That next date at the skating rink, when Selby asks Aileen if she was a prostitute… at first Charlize plays it like, “Oh here’s that other shoe,” but as Christina continues she sees that as an amazing thing. The idea that she’s so beautiful that men would PAY to be with her. That they would line up around the block for her. It’s a powerful neg, to turn the, “Oh you’re a whore” into stunned admiration and the effect upon Charlize’s face is visible, there’s even a touch of blush. Their roller-skating pairs scene is precious, intimate, yet exposed. This is a kiss struggled for, then given by both, then all-consuming. Fantastic.

There’s a desire for so much more, the next date is made… They need a place to be, and it falls to Aileen to earn that money, so she spends that entire next day pulling tricks to earn the money to be good for her Selby. Her girlfriend. At this point in her life, she’s sick of the lifestyle, but this time she sucks anonymous pricks off for Real Love, not theirs, but Selby’s. And when it was getting close to the time to meet up with Selby she turns one last trick. It doesn’t go well. In fact, it’s a horrible scene. Just brutal, degrading, painful, abusive and life-threatening. She’s forced into killing him. It was truly defense. She not only did the right thing, but given the evidence in the car, it could be said that she most likely saved possible future lives by killing the prick.

She had missed her date with Selby and fearing that she’d lost her attempts to make it up to her, confessing her love for Selby, her desire to be with Selby. She’s scared. Scared that she’ll be caught, scared that she’ll never see Selby again and scared of losing the only thing good that has ever happened to her. A love she killed for. Just 3 days before she was going to kill herself and tonight she fought to stay alive. Powerful thing love can be. She can be anything now. With Selby’s love, Aileen believes she can leave the life she’s known behind. She can become a real person, a doctor, a vet, a lawyer… anything, cuz all you need is love… right?

Well, those scenes of her straightening up, trying to act straight, trying to get a straight and narrow start in life, without a clue what it takes to get a real job. The way people treat her. The way they judge her. It’s easy to see how she could be trapped in a never-ending cycle of being the continual street whore. This was just awful to watch. Her hands, the struggling to understand look on her face. The number of things she just doesn’t grasp, that she can’t wrap her noodle around… it is terrible. I mean, she’s just killed someone after being tied up and forcibly violated after being doused with rubbing alcohol. Now, regular people won’t let her have a chance, a break… a helping hand.

This is definitely the bleakest look at the story of a prostitute since Louise Brooks’ Lulu in the brilliant PANDORA’S BOX. It certainly is no PRETTY WOMAN, no… more like PANDORA’S BOX, because as this film turns from the story of a prostitute into a serial killer… PANDORA’S BOX had a different twist with that element. In the end, both characters have just torn your heart out.

It is a testament to Charlize that we care. It is also a credit to Christina Ricci that we understand why Charlize does the things she does. This film is absolutely a fantastic film. This Patty Jenkins that directed it. She directed two short films, one that won at Telluride in 2001 and now this film and I have to say… I absolutely love this crop of new female directors. Sofia Coppola, Karyn Kusama, Kimberly Peirce, Catherine Hardwicke and now Patty Jenkins. They have all created startlingly vibrant and powerful works of cinema in the last 5 years. Beginning with THE VIRGIN SUICIDES and BOYS DON’T CRY then there was GIRLFIGHT and now this past year with THIRTEEN, LOST IN TRANSLATION and MONSTER… That’s 6 great films in 5 years and I’m hoping that each of them continue with the amazing voice they’re bringing to cinema. These are not films that masquerade as guy flicks, but they are also not the taffeta and pink flavors of Romantic Comedies and wimpy chick flicks. These films do not come from MATTEL, this is an incredibly powerful wave of cinema and tonight’s win by Charlize Theron & Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola at the GOLDEN GLOBES and their hopeful wins at this year’s Oscars (if they get nominated, and they had better) well, it means a higher visibility for their films. With Kimberly Peirce reportedly working on CHILDHOOD’S END for Universal and that Miami Beach racketeering flick she’s developing at Dreamworks. I’m hoping for both projects. As for these other ladies, I’m dying to see what is next. They infuse such humanity into their films. I just wish that the proposed ELEKTRA movie were given to one of these 5 directors, then left to them to make a great movie. A truly great movie. Sigh.

That reminds me, I’m supposed to be talking about MONSTER here, and when you take a look at this film and you compare it to all the other serial killer flicks we’ve been seeing of late. This is the most human. This isn’t cool, neither is it schlocky or gratuitous. It is raw and it hurts. I was so happy to see Charlize win tonight and I’m wishing the best thoughts for her career, after this she deserves the chance to play more fully developed and human characters. That being said, I can’t wait to see her Britt Ekland!