director : Patti Jenkins

It is a testament to the stars of Monster – Charlize Theron and her make-up artist – that the film begins so clumsily.

Flashbacks showing killer Aileen Wuornos (Theron) as a young girl are accompanied by a melodic, almost chirpy narration that clashes with the tone of the story. Perhaps Wuornos sounded like this during her stretch on death row, waxing lyrical about life and embracing her own celebrity status? Possible, but unlikely. Or was this particular direction by Patti Jenkins supposed to lighten the mood of an otherwise painfully dolorous film?

Nevertheless, the sporadic voice-over does seem to be grafted on. As some of you may recall, this was also a universal criticism of Blade Runner (1982). While lousy test screenings prompted its producers to impose the now reviled Harrison Ford oration, one cannot imagine the same headache befalling a smaller, more intimate production like Monster. I had no real issue with the content, but when spoken in a manner that brings to mind something like Legally Blonde: Truckstop Blues, it comes close to undermining the performances.

Things improve suddenly with a smash-cut from childhood to adulthood. Lee Wuornos is perched on the slope beneath a highway overpass, wedged screen right into the apex of a triangle formed by two massive concrete silhouettes. Her diminutive figure looks for all the world like an avenging angel, passing judgement over a river of traffic barrelling through curtains of rain. Toying with a stolen revolver, she contemplates burnt bridges and poor choices: she has passed the point of no return, and now finds herself cornered by life. For the first time we see Charlize Theron in full make-up, projecting an remarkable impersonation of convicted and executed serial killer Aileen Wuornos. And the person we meet here is not the same one doing the narration.

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