Feb. 22, 2004 - 6:14 pm
after deciding for sure that i thought Charlize Theron would win the Best Actress Oscar i also decided that i definitely needed to see the film. after having seen neither Monster's Ball nor Training Day in 2001, i thought that i should again try my best to see those films that i thought would be winning in each category. (not as if i thought that Denzel and Halle would win for 2001 in all actuality.)
Monster is a true story of a woman named Lee who grew up being constantly abused and raped and eventually became a prostitute. one evening she stops in a gay bar to get a drink and is approached by an attractive young lesbian named Selby who doesn't have any friends. she asks Lee if she wants to stay with her for the night and Lee agrees. they soon both discover that they have a love for each other, but basically no money to live on. Lee begins hooking again for money, but is nearly killed by one of her customers. she escapes and manages to kill him instead. after that, Lee refuses to be a real prostitute any more. she tries to get a job but fails because she isn't bright or pretty and has no experience with working. she tries to start hooking again, but ends up killing her first customer instead. this leads to a downward spiral that makes you pretty much want to start yelling at the screen.
yes, this is definitely an amazing performance. keith says that he doesn't care how good anyone else was. there's no way that Charlize should not win the Oscar. i tend to agree with him. her transformation is intense. she changes her speech, accent, looks, and even her regular body movements to be this character. she also goes through a whirlwind of emotions that she displays beautifully on the screen. not many people could make you understand and, to a certain degree, identify with this terrible character. but with Charlize's performance, it's difficult not to sympathize with her.
definitely worth going to see if you get the chance. it's an awesome film. i think the only other film i "need" to see before the Oscars on the 29th is Master and Commander. i've heard only good things about it, so hopefully it'll be better than i first expected.
don't forget to watch the show...1 week from tonight.