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# A ‘Monster’ performance by Theron is Oscar-worthy
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-monster-performance-by-theron-is-oscar-worthy/
- Published: 2004-01-09T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:29:53.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

In 1989-90 a truck-stop prostitute named Aileen Wuornos robbed and killed several johns in South Florida, a spree for which she was executed last year. That brief period of carnage, during which she met and fell in love with a woman named Selby Wall, is the focus of writer-director Patty Jenkins chilling portrait of America’s first female serial killer. Due largely to the subject matter and some truly marvelous performances by Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci, the film is as powerful as any in recent memory. But because Jenkins offers very little backsto-ry to explain what most likely drove Wuornos to such extremes — childhood abuse, rape, abandonment — viewers who are unfamiliar with the case might ultimately be left feeling a bit lost.

Theron underwent a much ballyhooed makeover to inhabit the role of Wuornos, one that included considerable weight gain, oral prosthetics and lots of make-up. The starlet is virtually unrecognizable beneath Wuornos’ rough-hewn exterior, though we’ll surely be seeing Theron’s pretty face again soon enough — like when they announce the Academy Award nominees for Best Actress, a category in which she must be considered one of the favorites. Almost as impressive is Ricci, who pulls off an astounding transformation in her own right. Almost laughable at first as the butch Wall, Ricci — Hollywood’s resident kewpie doll — slowly but surely morphs into the manipulative seductress whose avarice makes her a different sort of monster.

Above all else, “Monster” is the story of an ill-fated love affair, and hard-liners may find Jenkins take on Wuornos’ existence to be overly sympathetic. But no defense of her murderous deeds is offered, nor any doubts raised as to whether justice was served. “Monster” is only a movie, and a very good one at that, but it serves as a grim reminder of humanity’s very real and limitless capacity for evil. (Rated R for strong violence and sexual content, and for pervasive language. Running time: 111 minutes)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/010904-14_01.jpg)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 9, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/010904.pdf?ref=smdp.com)