Have you seen "Monster" yet?

[Bichon Barb]

Originally posted by Aimeedyan
I'm so surprised that so many didn't like it because it wasn't all warm fuzzies and kittens... it wasn't supposed to be! I hate feel good movies, for the most part, because they're unrealistic. SHE was real life, and people like her are more common then the average American would like to know.

The feelings I had for Lee during the movie were so extreme... what pushes someone to that point. I couldn't just see her as evil, I saw glimpses of what caused her to go over the edge. Very sad...

As someone who works with people of all walks of life on a daily basis, I found the movie important, because there ARE people in the real world who have backgrounds like she did... gave me insight into their struggles.

Except for the fact that I like feel good movies too, I have to agree with this post.

I thought Theron's acting was excellent. The nuances were great--like the slight head nodding tic she did--it looked very real.

I agree that this is not a movie for everyone. I recommended to my mom that she not watch it, as I know it would upset her. I admit, I watched it while laying on the couch with the blanket pulled up to my nose. LOL.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Christine, interesting! The movie sparked my interest and I stayed up half the night readnig through her case on courttv.com and found she has a long history of crimes that obviously, for times sake, weren't looked into on the film. I will have to read the book. I'm sure there is tons more out there that led to her snapping.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Another spoiler below.....

















Did anyone else jump out of their skin when she shot the guy who was begging for her not to?

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Originally posted by Bichon Barb
Another spoiler below.....

















Did anyone else jump out of their skin when she shot the guy who was begging for her not to?

Yes. Wasn't that HORRIBLE???

Scary scary scary....there are men and women out there right now living her life.........*shiver*

 

[grinningghost]

As far as two women kissing, that didn't bother me. The movie is supposed to be centered on the one positive thing Lee had in her life, which was her lover (which, by the way wasn't really named Selby, it was Ty). I'm not sure they could have effectively portrayed their relationship without showing them being intimate.

Again, excellent movie, brilliantly acted IMHO. I will watch it again before returning it to the video store.

 

[Pooh Girl 71]

Originally posted by Christine
SPOILERS......Don't read if you haven't seen the movie (unless you want to.....)











I felt the same way. At the end of the movie I was shocked at the outcome because I felt that she was a victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of the first rape. I could see why she snapped and started killing. I felt her punishment was too harsh. Then I found out that the book was totally different and that the movie portrayed her in a MUCH MORE sympathetic light than she really was. Guess I've got to read the book now.

Aileen Wuornos was not a nice woman. Her family was truly despicable as well. http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial4/wuornos/

I've not watched the movie yet but I do want to see it. Serial killers have always fascinated me.

 

[bizybea]

I saw this movie and I think the thing that bothered me the most was that they make her look like the rape was her snapping point and led to her murdering all these men; however, I read somewhere that the daughter of one of the victims said that the rape never happened, it was made up for the movie. The moviemakers make the viewer feel sympathy for a woman that was nothing but a cold blooded killer.

 

[Tinkbell]

I know life isn't all rainbows and kittens. That wasn't why I didn't like the movie. They spent a lot of time on the love story. I found that to be the most interesting part of the movie. Then it was like, Ricci helped frame Theron's character and ........so what? What became of Ricci's character other than, "they never spoke again"? Actually, the movie would have been better if it were told from Ricci's point of view. How did she feel up on the stand? What did she do on the day of the execution?

I understand they were trying to get us to feel that Theron's character was killing because of post traumatic stress disorder and maybe the death penalty wasn't warranted in this case, but if you interview most people on death row, you can probably hear many stories about sad lives and trauma. Again, I don't get why her story was one that needed to be told.

 

[AlexandNessa]

We saw it last weekend, and I didn't find Charlize's acting anything to write home about.

I am curious if she would have won the Oscar if she were that ugly in real life. Do you think, in a small way, that the Academy awarded her just for "going ugly?"

 

[Tinkbell]

AlexandNessa, I agree with you. The past 3 Oscars have gone to gorgeous actresses who went "ugly" for the role.

Halle Berry (strung out on crack) in Monsters Ball
Nicole Kidman (with funny nose) in the Hours
And of course, Charlize Theron for Monster

 

[Aimeedyan]

True, true, Tinkbell! Interesting observation, for sure!!!!

I did read more into that initial rape, and while people were never sure that it ever happened, once she was commited to prison, a reporter found that that first man, the one she claimed violently raped her, had done 10 years for rape in another state - something that was never brought up or found in time for her case. Regardless, she did NOT want to have a retrial, she wanted to die... so she was able to skip the appeals process.

I read that on courttv.com or crimelibrary.com or something... there were bunches of documents on it.

So that's why the movie included it, because it ended up the guy really did have a history of doing so, and it likely did happen... but they chose not to display the other men as raping her, as she intiially said they did, becuase she later admitted none of them but the first raped her.

I really wanted to know more about Christina Ricci's character. I couldn't find anything online about that woman, or what became of her...

 

[Tinkbell]

Originally posted by Aimeedyan
Regardless, she did NOT want to have a retrial, she wanted to die... so she was able to skip the appeals process.

That's another thing that I didn't like. You never really find out her feelings when it came time for execution. She is sentenced to death and upset, as anyone would be, and that's the end of the film. I don't want to see the actual execution scene, but they should have told a bit more about her feelings. What you just wrote, Aimeedyan, is interesting. We shouldn't have to research to find that out!

 

[Aimeedyan]

You're exactly right! It left us hanging, which is why I stayed up until 3am that night researching it! LOL!

Did you also know that some woman ADOPTED her as her daughter while she in prison, and did the talk show circuit on her behalf? That was very odd to read about... strange strange. Perhaps that's why they ended it when they did... because that woman played a huge role in her after sentence life...

 

[AlexandNessa]

Originally posted by Aimeedyan
I really wanted to know more about Christina Ricci's character. I couldn't find anything online about that woman, or what became of her...

That's because her real name is Tyria Moore. Please don't ask me why or how I know this.

 

[grinningghost]

Of course going "ugly" is part of the reason she won the Oscar, but certainly not all of it. If you watch courtroom footage of Aileen Wuornos, you can plainly see that Theron captured her mannerisms and voice perfectly. I don't think just any actress could have pulled that off.

 

[SideshowBob]

Dark, but very good film....

Roger Ebert called her performance one of the best in the history of the cinema... pretty wild, coming from him!!