Image credit: Monster, 2003
It’s Halloween this week, and perhaps you were expecting a monster movie—the kind with Boris Karloff in heavy makeup, maybe some weird lighting and a spooky soundtrack. But I’ve got something even scarier for you: Charlize Theron, sans eyebrows, in a film about a woman on the edge. Monster (Disc/Download) isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you can handle the intense drama, it offers a rare glimpse into the fear and violence of life on the streets.
Newscasters love to talk about how rare the female serial killer is, like a strange unicorn in a world of Dahmer’s and Gacy’s. But similar to some of these higher-profile men, Aileen Wuornos has been abused most of her life, driven to a kind of madness that makes her actions almost inevitable. Her first killing is in self-defense, but the rest are portrayed by Theron as a sort of PTSD. Like the collective trauma of being a woman in a world dominated by depraved men is simply too much to handle. In contrast to all the other films of prostitute-as-“Party Girl/Model/Call Girl”, with their impeccable grooming and charming romantic subplots, Monster takes a hard look at the reality of prostitution. Maybe she was always a cold-blooded killer, maybe she became one out of necessity. But when Aileen snaps, she SNAPS. Honestly, I wish she’d snapped a little more and killed her annoying, lazy girlfriend (played by Christina Ricci), but that’s a complaint for another day.
Before the blood spatter, the film showcases the tender romance between Aileen and Selby, two women both looking for a little comfort in a cold, hard world. All they want is some beer, maybe a little whiskey, and a warm place to sleep that’s free of judgement. While you’re watching Monster, pretend it’s ladies night at the local dive bar and cozy up with this Blood Orange Shandy.
Blood Orange Shandy
6 oz Budweiser beer
2 oz Ginger beer
1 oz Pomegranate juice
1 oz Blood Orange juice
Orange Twist
Combine ingredients in a chilled glass. Stir gently to combine, and garnish with an orange twist.
The thing that makes Monster so scary is that this story could conceivably happen to anyone. Maybe I have some devastating medical expenses, my husband dies, parents are gone, I lose my house, my job, my skin cream, and I’m on the streets. What would I do to survive? It’s this thought sending shivers up my spine because the simple answer is: I don’t know (cue spooky music). Cheers!
Cinema Sips 