Monster (2004, DVD)

Ever been a prostitute? Neither have I. Never been a lesbian either. Either one must be a difficult life to live. Prostitutes can be treated as the scum of the earth, yet society expects them to have socially acceptable behavior aside from their sex lives.

Meet Aileen Wuornos. She goes by "Lee" in the movie. She is played by Charlize Theron - The Italian Job. Lee is about 35 years old. Down on her luck, she meets Selby (Christina Ricci - Tuesday, Adams Family) in a bar. All Lee wants to do is dry off and get warm. Selby, a lesbian, has other ideas. Finally in Lee's life, there is someone who loves her for who she is.

Lee has been abused by men since she was a child and started her life as a prostitute at 13 years of age. When a man took her into the woods and ended up hog tying her and "abusing" her, that was all it took. She somehow managed to break loose. She defended herself with a .22 (shown as a 45 in the movie). This started a trend. The rest is history, so they say. Why a woman who hates men would want to be with them sexually, I'm not sure. She earns her living by getting a measely $10-35 per trick/john. She has no other skills.

Her lover, Selby, is incredibly naive and vulnerable. She is almost too naive for a young woman in her 20s to be believed. She does show some depth of character later in the movie.

Bruce Dern, father of Laura Dern, shows up here and there in the movie as her friend, Thomas. I would tell you what Bruce Dern has starred in, but none of the movie titles are familiar to me.

The movie is well done. The make up is magnificent. Charlize Theron, a beautiful woman, is made to look mud fence ugly. (I'd better go to my makeup stash!) She gained 30 pounds for the role. Charlize does a magnificent job of playing a lesbian prostitute with a real attitude problem. Her perspective on life differs from 99% of the general population, I would hope. I could see where Lee would be the dominant woman in the relationship. She acts the part of a man, wanting to provide for and protect her new lover. Her body language is incredible. I hate to say it, but she reminds me of someone I knew 20 years ago.

Cinematography is excellent, with the closeup shots of the actresses and occasional landscape shots. There are a couple of lesbian love scenes, the steamiest is just outside a roller skating rink when they realize they are in love. There is a milder one in a bed. There is brief nudity. There are bloody scenes here and there.

Final Thoughts
I thought this movie was well done. It made its point, showing how the characters got to where they were in their lives. I didn't cry, I didn't laugh. This is not what this movie was about. It wasn't exactly a documentary. It had a story to tell about two women and the relationship between them and the men in Lee's life. I merely accepted what became of the characters.

There is considerable foul language in this movie, yet Bad Santa offended me more. Rated R for strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language.

Runtime: 111 minutes

Directed and written by Patty Jenkins
Producers included Mark Damon and Charlize Theron.