Hollywood certainly got it right by awarding Charlize Theron the Best Actress Oscar but they should have gone one better by giving Christina Ricci Best Supporting Actress. The youthful innocence of her character magnified the monstrosity of the serial-killer prostitute. But now it is confession time. Though it was released five years ago, I just watched MONSTER–moments ago–on Video on Demand and was spellbound.
However, I had never seen Charlize Theron before and anxiously awaited the ending so I could google the ugly actress who portrayed a serial killer. I looked at photos of Ms. Theron and swore that the stunning beauty was the not the same actress from MONSTER. The best precedent for this character transformation was when Robert DeNiro gained fifty pounds to become a bloated Jake Lamotta in "Raging Bull." But at least he ended up looking like a fat debauched version of Robert DeNiro.
Another great thing about MONSTER was the continuously effective V.O. Most movies use a voice over to introduce a movie and then, if you hear it again at all, it is merely an afterthought. But for Cherlize Theron's character, the intermittent V.O commentary was like an internal vomit check.
However, I had never seen Charlize Theron before and anxiously awaited the ending so I could google the ugly actress who portrayed a serial killer. I looked at photos of Ms. Theron and swore that the stunning beauty was the not the same actress from MONSTER. The best precedent for this character transformation was when Robert DeNiro gained fifty pounds to become a bloated Jake Lamotta in "Raging Bull." But at least he ended up looking like a fat debauched version of Robert DeNiro.
Another great thing about MONSTER was the continuously effective V.O. Most movies use a voice over to introduce a movie and then, if you hear it again at all, it is merely an afterthought. But for Cherlize Theron's character, the intermittent V.O commentary was like an internal vomit check.