Monster

Adam Whybray

Perhaps not the film that some of the victims deserved, but the film that Aileen Wuornos deserved, which is fine as a corrective as most people will never look past her designation as a "monster" anyway. I'm a bit of a sucker for aggressive levels of sincerity as long as the sincerity is not deployed in a cloying way. 'Monster' comes close, but the artfully artless performances anchor it. A solid, moving film.

FISCHER

Une oeuvre relativement glauque et désespérée, servie par deux (grandes) actrices étonnantes, profondément investies par leurs personnages bordeline, qui dégage un étrange et persistant malaise, imperceptiblement et en durée... www.cinefiches.com

Ethan

Charlize Theron gives the performance of her career here and received a well deserved Oscar for it. Theron plays Wournos with a certain humanity that balances out the psychotic and paints a tragic tale of who would be labeled as the first female serial killer in America.

smndvdcl

An astonishing performance from Charlize Theron in a taut character study based on a true story. Like 'Dead Man Walking', the spectator is challenged to empathise with a serial killer. Wuornos has a much more understandable rationale for her crimes than Poncelet. Theron's bravery to fully inhabit her psyche and tackle the cruelties of female exploitation is remarkable.

Matthew Catanzano

Nearly a perfect film, nearly. Though, the documentary about the prisoner it was based on is a good counterpart for Theron's portrayal was (though compelling) nowhere near as ambiguous as the real person. She would say or do anything to get what she wanted which was assisted-suicide, the real woman was an even better actress than Theron. It is what she wanted from day one of the caper.

Rita Alexandra

Charlize Theron has the best female performance in the history of cinema.

J. O.

A devastating performance from Theron, paired with the beautifully tragic (fictionalized factual) story and gorgeous cinematography makes for an incredible little film. Everything from the eerily accurate performance of Wuornos and the immaculate production design is an example of filmmaking at its most powerful. Ultimately, it is sad and brutal, but has its moments of real tenderness and compassion too.

ig_____or

Charlize Theron is terrific in this role... just so deserving of the Oscar she won. The movie is fearless, shocking, sad. A real punch in the stomach. One of my all time performances by an actress in a movie.