Monster (2004)
85%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Won 1 Oscar
30 wins & 26 nominations total
Charlize Theron gives a searing, deglamorized performance as real life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster, an intense, disquieting portrait of a profoundly damaged soul
Monster” is a movie that will make you feel all sorts of emotions, but mostly just sad. Charlize Theron’s performance is amazing, but the rest of the movie is a bit of a mess. It’s definitely not a feel-good movie, but if you’re in the mood for something heavy, this might be the movie for you. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Newmarket Film Group
Release Type
Streaming, Streaming (Netflix)
Filming Location(s)
Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language
Year of Release
2004
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:DTS Dolby Digital
-
Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
-
Runtime:1h 49m
-
Language(s):English
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jan 30, 2004 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): May 30, 2006
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Charlize Theron, Christina Ricci, Bruce Dern, Scott Wilson, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Lee Tergesen, directed by Patty Jenkins, written by Patty Jenkins, produced by Mark Damon, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron, Donald Kushner, Brad Wyman, biography, LGBTQ+, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Nick Schager, James Christopher, Nev Pierce, Jeannette Catsoulis, Andrew Sarris, Emilie Black, Micheal Compton, Mattie Lucas, C.H Newell, Nick Rogers, Emanuel Levy, MPAA rating R, Aileen Wuornos, serial killer, prostitute, Florida, romance, crime, drama, victimization, Charlize Theron’s performance, Academy Award for Best Actress, Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress, Dolby SR, DTS, Surround, Flat (1.85:1), Newmarket Film Group
Worldwide gross: $58,469,210
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $92,234,384
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,057
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 10,058,275
US/Canada gross: $34,469,210
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $54,374,710
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,031
US/Canada opening weekend: $86,831
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $136,975
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,822
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $8,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $12,619,891
Production budget ranking: 1,575
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $6,795,811
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $72,818,682
ROI to date (est.): 375%
ROI ranking: 362
Christina Ricci – Selby Wall
Bruce Dern – Thomas
Scott Wilson – Horton, Last “John”
Pruitt Taylor Vince – Gene, Stuttering “John”
Lee Tergesen – Vincent Corey
Patty Jenkins – Director, Writer
Mark Damon – Producer
Clark Peterson – Producer
Charlize Theron – Producer
Donald Kushner – Producer
Brad Wyman – Producer
Director(s)
Patty Jenkins
Writer(s)
Patty Jenkins
Producer(s)
Mark Damon, Clark Peterson, Charlize Theron, Donald Kushner, Brad Wyman
Film Festivals
Sundance, Cannes
Awards & Nominations
Won 1 Oscar
30 wins & 26 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (190) | Top Critics (50) | Fresh (154) | Rotten (36)
Powerful, painful for mature audiences only.
December 26, 2010 | Rating: 3/5
Nell Minow
Common Sense Media
TOP CRITIC
With the exception of Charlize Theron’s masterful performance as Wuornos, the film is a misguided mess.
May 4, 2005 | Rating: C
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
TOP CRITIC
I can forgive the Oscar- winning makeover, but not the script-doctored romance
April 15, 2004
James Christopher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Theron offers a tender performance of fractured humanity, while Ricci — in the less showy role — also impresses.
April 6, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Nev Pierce
BBC.com
TOP CRITIC
That Theron rises to the challenge is remarkable; the challenge for audiences will be to avoid confusing a great performance with a great movie.
January 27, 2004 | Rating: 3/5
Jeannette Catsoulis
Las Vegas Mercury
TOP CRITIC
Ms. Theron has ventured far beyond mere surface impersonation — although that is startling enough — to an insightful penetration of her subject’s psyche.
January 21, 2004
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
Monster is an almost masterpiece film and serial killer biography. It’s somber and honest while it does not glamorize Aileen Wuornos and gives her a bit of humanity.
April 11, 2020 | Rating: 5/5
Emilie Black
Cinema Crazed
A somber, manipulative movie of the week that has connected with many people, but not this one.
November 16, 2019 | Rating: C+
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Theron keeps the proceedings on track. Her fierce, hauntingly vulnerable, Academy Award-winning performance shows us who Aileen Wuornos really was.
June 5, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Jenkins’s Monster tells the story of victimisation and re-victimisation through Aileen Wuornos.
May 7, 2019
C.H. Newell
Scriptophobic
By “Monster’s” end, nothingness replaces Aileen Wuornos’ ferocity – evidence of exhaustive efforts from Patty Jenkins and Oscar-winner Charlize Theron to emphasize this serial killer’s fraying sanity, not her crimes’ sensationalism.
October 12, 2010 | Rating: 4/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
The film’s worth seeing for Charlize Theorn’s stunning performance, based on complete physical and psychological transformation, but as a dramatic feature, it lacks an interesting perspective and is underpopulated in terms of characters.
May 4, 2010 | Rating: C+
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com…
Plot
The true story of serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was convicted of luring men to their death and eventually executed in 2002. In 1989, she was working as a prostitute and finally makes a friend when she meets and begins a relationship with a young woman, Selby. Determined to straighten out her life, she tries to find legitimate work but with little education and limited social skills, she fails at every turn. She starts working as a hooker hitching rides along the local interstate highway and after robbing a few clients has an encounter with a vicious client whom she kills in self-defense. After that however she just takes to killing clients taking their money and car. Once arrested she claims self-defense but is eventually convicted.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Charlize Theron’s performance as Aileen Wuornos in Monster earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as numerous other awards and critical acclaim.
Patty-Jenkins.jpg
