Monster

Patty Jenkins shot the film in Florida in 29 days, and Charlize Theron is in every scene; that continuity carries the weight far more than the makeup. The only prosthetic is the teeth, which makeup artist Toni G sculpted one by one; the rest is contact lenses, liquid latex and layers of tattoo colour sprayed on. Theron also put on 30 pounds and shaved her eyebrows. Preparation went past case files. Jenkins exchanged letters with Aileen Wuornos; Theron rang Nick Broomfield, who had made documentaries about her, asked for footage while he was still cutting, and watched an early assembly. The travelling companion Christina Ricci plays is semi fictionalised and renamed, so reading the pair as documentary will mislead. The killings are not suspense set pieces. They arrive as the direct result of needing a car, money and somewhere to sleep, tied to the economics of the relationship. The weight sits in the months before; the courtroom is left to the end. At the 76th Academy Awards the film held a single nomination and won it: Charlize Theron for actress in a leading role. A good fit if you accept killings built as the outcome of two people running out of money rather than as thriller beats. Not for anyone avoiding a scene of sexual violence shown plainly.