Monster (5 Stars)

"I'm not a bad person! I'm a real good person!"

When I reviewed "My Friend Dahmer" in September this year I was challenged by a friend who said it was wrong to make a film about a serial killer, because he shouldn't be glorified. I insisted that the film in no way glorified him, but she refused to watch it herself to form an opinion. Earlier this month I was involved in an online discussion about "The Killing of John Lennon", a biopic about Mark Chapman, and similar arguments were brought. Most of the people in the discussion said that it was wrong to make a film about a bad man who had killed their hero.

In both cases I defended the films. A murder or a series of murders can't be seen in a vacuum. There are millions of people on the Earth, but very few killers and even less serial killers. What makes a person that way? How can I prevent my children from turning into serial killers? Describing a person's thoughts and motives in a film doesn't mean that the director is saying he was right to do what he did.

The film "Monster" is about the much publicised case of Aileen Wuornos, a woman who was sentenced to death in 1992 after killing seven men. She was given six death sentences, but she appealed against one of the sentences on the grounds that the killing was in self-defence. The appeal was refused because it was pointless; even if she'd been found innocent of one murder, she would still have been guilty of the other five murders. She was executed in 2002.

Charlize Theron puts on puts on a stunning performance as Aileen Wuornos, for which she deservedly won an Oscar as Best Actress. Roger Ebert called "Monster" the film of the year. The excellent screenplay by the director Patty Jenkins (who also directed "Wonder Woman") gives a fascinating insight into her mind. Was she a good person who was pushed over the edge, or a clinical psychopath who couldn't have ended up any other way? Patty Jenkins leaves the decision up to the viewer. Aileen grew up as a naive young person looking for love. As a child she was repeatedly sexually abused by friends and family members. When she was 14 she became a prostitute, because it was the only thing she was good at.

In 1986 Aileen met and fell in love with Tyria Moore, whose name is changed to Selby Wall in the film. Love usually saves a person, but in this case it had the opposite effect. Selby was unemployed, so Aileen needed to earn more money to support two people. Prostitution was no longer enough. Aileen could make more money by robbing and killing her customers. Though not stated in the film, it could also be that after becoming a lesbian she found sex with men too revolting to continue her work as a prostitute.

The film is honest in its portrayal of Aileen Wuornos. When we see her killing for the first time in self-defence the viewer is cheering her on, saying that he deserved to die. Then we see her killing her other customers who aren't so bad, they're just lonely men willing to pay for sex. Finally we see her killing a man who doesn't even want sex from her, he only wants to help her. The initial sympathy which we had for her slowly ebbs away.

My film ratings are often erratic, but I have one small rule that I adhere to. Any film that makes me cry gets five stars. It's a deeply emotional film. I could feel Aileen Wuornos' madness. That made me cry.

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