Monster is a 2003 biographical-crime-drama-thriller about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a former prostitute who was executed in 2002 for killing seven men in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Wuornos was played by Charlize Theron, and her lover, Selby Wall, was played by Christina Ricci. The film was written and directed by Patty Jenkins.

Much of Theron's preparation for the role is credited to Nick Broomfield's 1992 documentary, Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, of which Theron reportedly watched clips between takes. Theron won many awards for her portrayal, including the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Best Actress.

Plot

After moving to Florida, Aileen Wuornos (Theron), a prostitute, meets Selby Wall (Ricci) in a bar. Wall takes to Wuornos almost immediately, as she likes that Wuornos is very protective of her, even though she notices that the older woman is deeply disturbed. They have a romantic encounter at a roller rink and quickly become committed to one another, moving into a motel.

After being raped and brutalized by a client (Lee Tergesen), Wuornos murders him and decides to quit prostitution. Eventually, it becomes difficult to pay the bills and Wuornos tries to find legitimate work, but finds it difficult, mostly due to her lack of education. Desperate for money and resentful of the men who use her, she commits several murders, each more brutal than the last, robbing her victims after killing them.

Wuornos uses the money she steals from her victims to indulge herself and Wall, the two of them drinking in bars and eating in fancy restaurants. However, as Wall reads in the papers about the string of murders and begins to suspect that Wuornos may have committed them, the two have a falling out and Wall returns to Ohio on a charter bus.

Wuornos is eventually arrested at a biker bar and speaks to Wall one last time while in jail. Wall reveals incriminating information over the telephone and Wuornos realizes Wall is with the police. To protect Wall, Wuornos states she committed the murders alone. During Wuornos' trial, Wall testifies against her. Wuornos is later convicted, sentenced to death, and executed.

Cast

• Charlize Theron as Aileen Wuornos
• Christina Ricci as Selby Wall
• Bruce Dern as Thomas
• Lee Tergesen as Vincent Corey
• Annie Corley as Donna
• Pruitt Taylor Vince as Gene / Stuttering "John"
• Marco St. John as Evan / Undercover "John"
• Marc Macaulay as Will / Daddy "John"
• Scott Wilson as Horton / Last "John"

Reception

Film critics praised Monster. Most gave especially high praise to Theron's performance as an unattractive, mentally illAileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer. Dir. Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill. Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2003. woman. For the role, Theron gained 30 pounds and wore prosthetic teeth. Critics called her performance, and her makeup, a "transformation". Film critic Roger Ebert wrote "What Charlize Theron achieves in Patty Jenkins' 'Monster' isn't a performance but an embodiment." The film won Theron the Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Drama and the SAG Award.

Trivia

• Charlize Theron gained 30 pounds for her role in the film; Christina Ricci gained about 10 for her role.
• Steve Perry of Journey served as music consultant.
• Charlize Theron won the Academy Award on February 29, 2004, which would have been Wuornos' 48th birthday.
• Wuornos gave director Jenkins access to hundreds of letters she had written and received. Jenkins and Theron flew to Michigan to read the letters over the course of two days; the letters filled two rooms.
• One of the film's shooting locations was The Last Resort in Port Orange, Florida, the bar where Wuornos was arrested on January 9, 1991. Its owner, Al Bulling, made a brief appearance playing a bartender.
• Actors Bruce Dern and Scott Wilson had acted together in the 1974 movie, The Great Gatsby, another film in which the chasing of the American Dream ends in multiple murders.

Soundtrack

In 2004, BT released a soundtrack to the film.

1. "Childhood Montage"
2. "Girls Kiss"
3. "The Bus Stop"
4. "Turning Tricks"
5. "First Kill"
6. "Job Hunt"
7. "Bad Cop"
8. "'Call Me Daddy' Killing"
9. "I Don't Like It Rough"
10. "Ferris Wheel (Love Theme)"
11. "Ditch The Car"
12. "Madman Speech"
13. "Cop Killing"
14. "News On TV"
15. "Courtroom"

All songs written by BT.
Included with the release is a DVD featuring all fifteen original cues, and an additional nine cues that would not fit on the CD, as well as an interview with BT and Patty Jenkins, and remix files for "Ferris Wheel".