Charlize Theron, Mark Damon, Clark Peterson, Donald Kushner, Brad Wyman
Screenplay:
Patty Jenkins
Cinematographer:
Steven Bernstein
(Scary Movie 2, The Water Boy, Like Water For Chocolate)
Music Score:
Brian Wayne Transeau 'BT'
(Fast and the Furious, Driven, Under Suspicion)
Cast:
Aileen Wuornos: Charlize Theron
Selby Wall: Christina Ricci
Thomas: Bruce Dern
Horton 'Last John': Scott Wilson
Gene 'Stuttering John': Pruitt Taylor Vince
Vincent Corey: Lee Tergesen
Donna: Annie Corley
Cubby: Bubba Baker
Evan 'Undercover John': Marco St John
Will 'Daddy John': Marc Macaulay
Cop: Rus Blackwell
Chuck: Tim Ware
Lawyer: Stephan Jones
Charles: Brett Rice
Teen Aileen: Kaitlin Riley
7-year-old Aileen: Cree Ivey
Justy: Catherine Mangan
Bar Lap Girl: Magdalena Manville
Bartender: T Robert Pigott
Employment Agent: Romonda Shaver
Restaurant Manager: Glenn R Wilder
Wife at Accident: Elaine Stebbins
Undercover Cops: Kane Hodder, Christian Stokes
Bar Girls: Lyllian Barcaski, Nonalee Davis
Himself: Al (at Last Resort)
Himself: Cannonball
Trevor: Chad Vaccarino
Judge (Hon Gene R Stephenson): Gene R Stephenson
Skate Rink Attendant: Jesse Stern
Police Chief: Bill Boylan
Newscaster: Jim R Coleman
Cute Teen Attendant: Chandra Leigh
Attendants: Lori McDonald, Adam Brown
Performance of a lifetime is a much overused accolade,
but after seeing stunning ex-model Charlize Theron so completely transformed
into real-life, white trash, serial killer Aileen Wuornos, this is the only
phrase that does Theron justice. By putting on almost 30 pounds in weight (a la Robert De
Niro in Raging Bull) Theron and her first-time director Patty Jenkins were
part-way there, but the full transformation only took place when hair and
contact lenses were changed and skin weathered. And most importantly, two
new sets of teeth were constructed, forcing Theronšs voice and bearing to
change to accommodate them.
Wuornos' story is already familiar from Nick Broomfield's documentaries,
Aileen: The Life And Death Of A Serial Killer and the earlier Aileen
Wuornos: The Selling Of A Serial Killer, so we may be vaguely aware of the
case and Aileenšs eventual fate. But this dramatic film brings home the
extreme emotions and desperate violence when Wuornos turned from bitter
prostitute to vengeful killer back in the 1980s. Be warned: this is no date
movie!
We first encounter Aileen or 'Lee' as a child, then teen in flashback,
with Theronšs monotone voiceover adding to the sense of inescapable fate
that dogs Leešs every step. The first pivotal moment in her life is when she
accidentally wanders into a gay bar, drunk and suicidal, and encounters the
painfully shy and closeted Selby Wall, played by Christina Ricci. She's an
unwilling companion for the diminutive Selby, but is content to have drinks
bought for her and somewhere to sleep that night. Having been ill-treated by
every man she's ever known, except her homeless friend Tom (beautifully
acted by Bruce Dern), it becomes a short leap from Lee's initial declaration
"I'm not gay" to "I was flexible" to "All I had left was love". Lee and
Selbyšs passionate lesbian love affair kicks off when they go roller-skating
at a seedy rink as Blondie and Journey play over the PA system and one long
kiss clinches their mutual attraction.
Lee's genuine, but obsessive, love for Selby becomes the motivation and the
backdrop for all the subsequent action. Lee turns tricks on the freeway to
pay for their room, even going down a dark lane with the last 'John' of the
day. When he turns on her, beating, raping and tying her up, she goes wild,
freeing herself and shooting him, emptying the entire barrel into him. This
second pivotal moment is the first of a series of killings, despite a brief
glimpse of another future when Lee declares shešs giving up 'hooking'. She
wants to become a veterinarian or a businessperson or even the President of
the United States, but after failing abysmally at every job interview and
turning aggressive when her lack of qualifications get her nowhere, she
succumbs to a violent cop in a parking garage and goes back to prostitution.
"I've been hooking since I was 13," she declares in a rare moment of
clarity. "I'm a hooker."
From here it's all downhill, despite Leešs growing adoration of Selby. Her
individual victims mount up and we get a glimpse of their growing number
when we see the box in which Lee keeps newspaper cuttings of the killings.
Selby declares: "You can't kill people!", but Lee replies: "Says who?" Ricci
and Theron are utterly convincing throughout as Selby gets bored and flirts
with new gal pals in Leešs bullish persona, and Lee looks on desperately,
although she does at least muster up the courage to accompany Selby onto a
ferris wheel 'the Monster' from her youth at a fairground.
Prostitution remains Leešs only method to make money to keep Selby fed,
watered and happy, and get hold of a new vehicle each time she slaughters
another 'John'. But it becomes clear that shešs utterly beyond redemption
when she kills an innocent man who only wants to help. So it's only a matter
of time before fate and the law catches up with her in the final part of
the film.
It would have been a travesty if Charlize Theron hadn't won the Academy
Award for Best Actress this year, but the only problem now is finding
another role as good as this one. Previously typecast as eye-candy in a
succession of slick movies, she needs some more gritty acting challenges to
push her into the premier league of thespians. She could do a lot worse than
team up with director/screenwriter Patty Jenkins again. And as for Jenkins
herself, the future looks very bright.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
From here it's all downhill, despite Leešs growing adoration of Selby. Her
individual victims mount up and we get a glimpse of their growing number
when we see the box in which Lee keeps newspaper cuttings of the killings.
Selby declares: "You can't kill people!", but Lee replies: "Says who?" Ricci
and Theron are utterly convincing throughout as Selby gets bored and flirts
with new gal pals in Leešs bullish persona, and Lee looks on desperately,
although she does at least muster up the courage to accompany Selby onto a
ferris wheel 'the Monster' from her youth at a fairground.