By contrast, Theron’s character in Young Adult is more self-serving and amusingly wrapped up in a scheme to woo an old High School flame while ignoring everyone else (including that old High School flame’s current wife) and actual reality so she can cling to a teenage vision of happiness. It’s in her role as the lead character of Monster that Charlize Theron unearths her darkest exploration of what it means to be damaged, as she portrays real life human being Aileen Wuornos who’d been abused and brutalized by the world and then channeled all that anger and resentment into taking innocent lives, a shocking depiction of how childhood abuse can beget an endless cycle of pain and suffering under certain circumstances.
Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) had great ambitions as a child. A quietly tragic dialogue-free montage accompanied by Theron's in-character narration establishes Aileen early in life desires to become a big star, a famous actor, something that would get her away from her troubled homelife. But the years wore on and that didn't happen, with her life constantly being thrown sideways by men who came into her life. By the time Monster begins proper, she's been a sex worker for years on end, it's the only way of life she knows and can imagine living. While at a bar, she has an encounter with a young woman named Selby Wall (Christina Ricci).
Selby's having her own difficulties stemming from her sexual orientation (she's a Lesbian) that have made her father despise her and send her away from home. She and Aileen strike up a friendship that soon blossoms until a full-on romance, one that they both see as an opportunity to get away from the sordid lives they've been through. In order to get money for their new life, Aileen begins to give into bloodlust she developed after killing an attempted rapist by killing the vast majority of the men who hire her for her sexual services. The body count is rising, the tension between Aileen and Selby is mounting and all the while Aileen see's nothing wrong her murderous warpath and the prospect of taking innocent lives.
Aileen's nihilistic view of the world is a crucial component of Monster, it's hard to imagine the movie in its final form even existing without it. The movie itself views such a perspective on the rest of the world as one it can readily empathize with as it understands the horrifying conditions (such as childhood molestation) that have led Aileen to be so wary of other people in the world, particularly men who utilize her services as a sex worker. Patty Jenkins screenplay takes plenty of time to thoroughly examine why Aileen is the way she is and never short-changes her as a human being. There's depth in the characters suffering and it's great that they got an actor like Charlize Theron who is clearly so adept at portraying realistic depictions of damaged human being to play this well-written role.
A notable facet Theron brings to this part is this casual air to the character's attitude towards the murders she begins to commit at the start of the second act. This is another one of those aspects of Aileen whose existence in Aileen's life understandable, as she's been experiencing turmoil for so long she's gotta cling to a casual form of hope to make it through the next day. Theron plays that aspect of Aileen incredibly well and it creates this disturbing layer to the character as she begins to translate her casual attitude towards the atrocities inflicted upon her all of her life onto the atrocities she's now inflicting on the innocent men (a description that doesn't apply to the first man she kills, a dude who knocks her out and plans to rape and dismember her) across the country.
It is in her casual attitude towards killing the innocent that we see how the cycle of abuse has beget more abuse, a vicious succession of cruelty that Monster unflinchingly depicts by way of Patty Jenkins strong writing and directing that creates plenty of humanity in Aileen Wuornos while also rightfully making her a menacing figure capable of unspeakable brutality. A scene late into Monster depicting Aileen and an older client in the woods, where the camera mostly sticks on a static wide show as Aileen recounts childhood abuse to the man who's slowly realizing something is seriously wrong here, is chilling in its elegant simplicity, simply letting the atmosphere and unsettling protagonist play out for the audience. When you've got a phenomenal lead performance from Charlize Theron and a script as good as the one Patty Jenkins has conjured up here, letting just those elements go solo for this scene feels like an incredibly smart move.
Aileen Wuornos (Charlize Theron) had great ambitions as a child. A quietly tragic dialogue-free montage accompanied by Theron's in-character narration establishes Aileen early in life desires to become a big star, a famous actor, something that would get her away from her troubled homelife. But the years wore on and that didn't happen, with her life constantly being thrown sideways by men who came into her life. By the time Monster begins proper, she's been a sex worker for years on end, it's the only way of life she knows and can imagine living. While at a bar, she has an encounter with a young woman named Selby Wall (Christina Ricci).
Selby's having her own difficulties stemming from her sexual orientation (she's a Lesbian) that have made her father despise her and send her away from home. She and Aileen strike up a friendship that soon blossoms until a full-on romance, one that they both see as an opportunity to get away from the sordid lives they've been through. In order to get money for their new life, Aileen begins to give into bloodlust she developed after killing an attempted rapist by killing the vast majority of the men who hire her for her sexual services. The body count is rising, the tension between Aileen and Selby is mounting and all the while Aileen see's nothing wrong her murderous warpath and the prospect of taking innocent lives.
Aileen's nihilistic view of the world is a crucial component of Monster, it's hard to imagine the movie in its final form even existing without it. The movie itself views such a perspective on the rest of the world as one it can readily empathize with as it understands the horrifying conditions (such as childhood molestation) that have led Aileen to be so wary of other people in the world, particularly men who utilize her services as a sex worker. Patty Jenkins screenplay takes plenty of time to thoroughly examine why Aileen is the way she is and never short-changes her as a human being. There's depth in the characters suffering and it's great that they got an actor like Charlize Theron who is clearly so adept at portraying realistic depictions of damaged human being to play this well-written role.
A notable facet Theron brings to this part is this casual air to the character's attitude towards the murders she begins to commit at the start of the second act. This is another one of those aspects of Aileen whose existence in Aileen's life understandable, as she's been experiencing turmoil for so long she's gotta cling to a casual form of hope to make it through the next day. Theron plays that aspect of Aileen incredibly well and it creates this disturbing layer to the character as she begins to translate her casual attitude towards the atrocities inflicted upon her all of her life onto the atrocities she's now inflicting on the innocent men (a description that doesn't apply to the first man she kills, a dude who knocks her out and plans to rape and dismember her) across the country.
It is in her casual attitude towards killing the innocent that we see how the cycle of abuse has beget more abuse, a vicious succession of cruelty that Monster unflinchingly depicts by way of Patty Jenkins strong writing and directing that creates plenty of humanity in Aileen Wuornos while also rightfully making her a menacing figure capable of unspeakable brutality. A scene late into Monster depicting Aileen and an older client in the woods, where the camera mostly sticks on a static wide show as Aileen recounts childhood abuse to the man who's slowly realizing something is seriously wrong here, is chilling in its elegant simplicity, simply letting the atmosphere and unsettling protagonist play out for the audience. When you've got a phenomenal lead performance from Charlize Theron and a script as good as the one Patty Jenkins has conjured up here, letting just those elements go solo for this scene feels like an incredibly smart move.
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