CORPORATE LINE: Aileen Wuornos (Theron) had a difficult and cruel childhood plagued by abuse and drug use in Michigan , becoming a prostitute (and pregnant) by the age of 13. Wuornos eventually moved to Florida where she became a highway prostitute, servicing the desires of semi-truck drivers. This movie focuses on the nine month period in 1989 and 1990 during which she had a lesbian relationship with a woman named Selby (Ricci), and during which she also began murdering any of her clientele who tried to rape her.
THE GOOD : Charlize Theron has finally given viewers something more than eye candy. In this part as serial killer Aileen Wuornos, Theron completely transforms herself. Theron put on a good deal of weight. What is the scariest part of the film, aside from the killings, is how much Theron resembles the real Wuornos. It’s surreal. Not only does she look the part but also she completely takes over the attitude and demeanor. If no one told you this was Charlize Theron you have would never guess it was her. Theron gives an Oscar worthy performance. Christina Ricci plays her part well, if not Robin to Theron’s Batman, part.
THE BAD : Aileen is painted in the worst kind of sympathetic light. It’s hard to sympathize for a murder that only wants money to keep her girlfriend happy. If director/screenwriter Patty Jenkins is looking to redeem Aileen Wuornos she may have made a persuasive argument, but at the same time it just seems utterly wrong.
DVD FEATURES: A 15 minute featurette with Theron and writer/director Patty Jenkins gives an nice insight into the way they got in Wuornos head. They visited some of the places Wuornos hung out, like the biker bar, and read letters she had written. The other features are about the soundtrack—not extremely interesting.
FRANKLY: The film is brutal but not so much so that you can’t watch. They leave a lot to the imagination. Theron does a lot of work to make it an emotional ride to make up for the things that go unsaid or unseen. The DVD is lacking in special features but Theron’s performance alone makes up for it as she is the only reason to watch.
+ Charlie Craine
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