It would be easy to attribute the hype over Charlize Theron's performance in "Monster" to the same phenomenon that allowed Nicole Kidman to win Best Actress at last year's Academy Awards by, well, a nose. Add a few pounds, maybe a few prosthetics here and there for good measure -- instant credibility, likely Oscar.
Superficially, Theron certainly falls into this group. Shaping her into a prostitute-turned-serial killer seemed, the project's conception, unlikely at best. She is, after all, an actress who convincingly portrayed, among other things, a supermodel ("Celebrity"). To play the lead in "Monster," Theron would not only have to gain a considerable amount of weight, but acquire a haggard, road-worn complexion that seemed a daunting task for even the magic of Hollywood.
Not only does Theron succeed, her recent Golden Globe cannot even account for the intensity of her performance. Apparently drawn from a personal history of an extremely rocky childhood, Theron humanizes Aileen, not an easy task for a character who pitilessly takes the lives of seven men.
"Monster" is based on the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a destitute prostitute struggling to make ends meet. Prostitution aside, Aileen lives a largely crime-free existence until a particularly gruesome trick in which she is raped, sodomized and tortured. Because she is carrying a gun, however, she is able to kill the perpetrator, subsequently stealing his money and other possessions.
Thus triggers the series of murders that Aileen commits, initially for the moral reprehensive character of the men she attracts, but eventually strictly for money to support her sole companion and lover, Selby.
While at times painful to watch, "Monster" succeeds in conveying the tribulations of a broken woman. Theron's stunning performance is complimented by masterful direction and a generally well-formulated script.
The person perhaps most deserving of an Oscar is not even Theron herself, but the casting director. Aside from the seemingly risky casting of Theron as Aileen, the dominant supporting roles of Selby (Christina Ricci) and Aileen's only other notable friend, Thomas (Bruce Dern), are flawless.
Ricci continues her tradition of taking challenging, offbeat roles as Aileen's lesbian lover with a rather unaccommodating home life, but deviates from her history of playing generally shrewd characters by portraying Selby with wide-eyed innocence and a striking amount of naiveté. While playing young women coming to terms with themselves has been a defining feature of Ricci's catalogue, Selby requires a sense of passivity that Ricci nevertheless communicates effortlessly.
Dern, despite his limited screen time, serves his purpose of elucidating Aileen's past and eliciting viewer sympathy. As Thomas, Dern is a Vietnam vet who can, at least on some levels, identify with Aileen's societal detachment and struggles. A lesser actor would not have been able to draw out the softer side of Aileen that makes her bearable to watch as her crimes progressively become more and more heinous.
The film itself, however, is not without its faults. The source of Selby's affection for Aileen is never clear. Selby, who begins the movie weak and socially awkward, is immediately drawn to Aileen's bravado when she enters a bar in the opening scene. While it's questionable whether romantic motivations can ever be fully understood, the romance that develops between Aileen and Selby, and particularly Selby's largely unwavering loyalty throughout the course of Aileen's crimes, seems unlikely.
While the film certainly takes creative license with the story, it might have been better served to more faithfully depict Aileen's descent into mental illness. While her crimes intensify and her paranoia grows markedly, her general mental clarity remains relatively stable. This sanity makes the climax of the movie more wrenching, but might have been sacrificed for a more accurate depiction.
"Monster" is a success because of the entire ensemble and its ability to turn a proverbial monster into not only a human being, but one that might even be understood. It is fully justifiable, however, that Theron has been the focal point of the fanfare surrounding the film. Prosthetics and weight gain aside, Theron has finally and fully demonstrated her potential as an actress by giving a truly inspired performance that signals a new career trajectory of monstrous proportions.
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