Imagine you‘re at the scene of a traffic accident.
A woman crawls out from under the wreckage as you watch in shocked fascination.
She is battered and bedraggled and yet she carries herself with a bruised dignity.
Blinking back the tears, she fixes you with a defiant stare, hitches up her jeans and walks unsteadily down the highway.
Got that image in your head? Good.
Because it is a lot like watching Charlize Theron playing real life prostitute and serial killer Aileen Wuornos in this riveting 2003 feature written and directed by Patty Jenkins.
Film Poses Hard Questions
Jenkins unflinchingly depicts the abuse Wuornos suffered at the hands of a sadistic “client“ and the twisted rage that resulted in the deaths of seven men.
When did she decide to stop being a victim and become the aggressor?
Did the horrific neglect she suffered as a child predispose her to violence?
Is the system to blame for letting her fall between the cracks?
There are no easy answers here.
“I‘m sure some people will be horrified ... some people will be moved, “ Jenkins says on the DVD release of the film, “and beyond that, the only thing that I can hope to do is show what you learn about this person when you look harder ... because most people never do look harder.“
Surprising Choice for Lead Role
In the film, Theron, as Wuornos, says, “The thing that no one realized about me was that I could learn. I could train myself into anything. They had no idea what I could discipline myself to do when I believed in something.“
It is a slice of dialogue with which the actress can relate. Prior to the completed film she seemed like an improbable candidate for the lead role.
No one but Jenkins seemed to believe the sleek South African beauty could transform herself into the physically unprepossessing and psychologically complex Wuornos.
Theron vindicated the filmmaker`s faith in her when she triumphed over naysayers and ended up earning an Oscar and a Golden Globe (among other awards) for her gritty and fearless performance.
(Kudos as well to Christina Ricci as Wuornos` spoiled young lesbian girlfriend.)
Reel Life Meets Real Life
You only have to watch the Nick Broomfield documentary Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer to see how close Theron came to capturing the look and feel of the real Wuornos.
It`s not just the uncanny physical resemblance (or the thirty pounds Theron packed on for the role.)
With empathy and intuition the actress finds the soft centre in this tough cookie without shying away from the savagery of her crimes.
“It‘s almost like dancing,“ Theron says on the DVD. “You don‘t go on stage thinking about the steps. You have to get to a place where it just kinda happens.“
Richard Goertz - Richard Goertz has a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English and History acquired light years ago (when his hair was longer) and have ...
