MONSTER: INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE

Among so many performances that cinema offers us, there is one that stands out, and that has really impressed me, it is that of Charlize Theron in the film Monster (2003), where she had such an outstanding performance, that it won her the Oscar Award for Best Actress. The film is based on true events. There she plays the serial killer Aileen Wuornos. This woman was a prostitute who murdered seven men, between 1989 and 1991. According to her, she had been raped. However, the victims appeared without their belongings. Wuornos had a lover named Shelby Wall, a character played by Christina Ricci.

              ¿Who was Aileen Wuornos?

The film's main character, Aileen Wuornos, had a complicated past, as her childhood was marked by physical abuse and abandonment. She never knew her father. When she was only four years old, her mother gave her to her grandparents. But they did not give her a good upbringing, because her grandmother was an alcoholic, and her grandfather beat her and sexually abused her. Because of all this, Aileen became sexually active from a very young age, becoming pregnant at fifteen. Her child was given up for adoption. Aileen was kicked out of the house. She had to become a nomad in search of refuge. It was then that she made a living through crime and prostitution. This is how she came to commit her crimes. Many have justified her behavior, saying that she was simply a traumatized woman, that she did everything out of necessity, that she was simply a victim of circumstance.  However, the trial established that he acted premeditatedly and maliciously.

         Charlize Theron's transformation

Portraying a character like Aileen Wuornos wouldn't be easy. First, the actress would have to undergo a transformation in her physical appearance. Charlize Theron had to gain weight because she was very thin. She also had to make changes to her face, such as removing her eyebrows, wearing dark contact lenses, and getting dentures. Then, the most complicated part: capturing the criminal's gestures and conveying her attitude convincingly.

Her unfeminine physical appearance and voice should portray a woman of strong character, furious, rude, and harsh. A cold-blooded killer, without compassion or hesitation in committing her crimes. She cunningly planned the murders, seducing and deceiving the men, then robbing and shooting them, leaving them abandoned in the woods, feeling no remorse, because, according to her, she was doing it in self-defense.

Aileen, who has never felt loved, meets a lesbian girl named Shelby in a bar. The two quickly begin a romantic relationship. Theron and Ricci must perform several lesbian scenes, a challenge for both actresses, as they are heterosexual.

Charlize Theron's performance was very convincing. She knew how to give all the characteristics to the character, which made the viewer feel moments of tension, and gave realism to the story of that murderous woman, who was considered a great danger to the men who came to her, seeking a moment of pleasure.

Without a doubt, it is a performance that all of us who saw the film will remember.