Christina Ricci Neked in Monster?

[new guy]

but seriously, those BJs must've hurt. Did you see that bitches teeth?

[jokerspath]

If this has already been written in this post, forgive me, for the search would be clumsy and difficult.  But did anyone else notice how she moved her lips and mouth?  If anyone has worn false teeth before as a joke or whatever, you know what i'm talking about.  You're constantly closing your lips together and it just looks weird and bulging.  Anyone else notice that shit?

aw

[cine]

Okay it's official: the bitching about Monster is annoying now. Get over it.

[Finn]

I finally got to see this movie. It just came to theaters where I live (more than likely only because it's now an Academy Award Winner). Theron's performance is great and the storytelling is really strong as well. But I thought it was yet another example of art imitating the dark side and I couldn't help but wonder what was the point of the whole movie. Overall I'd say, really good movie but a great performance.

[MacGuffin]

Theron in emotional meeting with Mandela

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Oscar-winner Charlize Theron was reduced to tears Thursday when former President Nelson Mandela praised her for putting South Africa on the map. "I love you so much," the actress said during an emotional meeting at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg. Theron, who won a best-actress Oscar for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster," grew up in the small South African town of Benoni. Wearing a simple white dress with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, she told Mandela he was an inspiration to her and many others. Mandela returned the compliment. "She has put South Africa on the map," he told reporters. "Even those who were ignorant of South Africa, having seen her, they must know now that there is a country like South Africa."
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Charlize Theron to Star in Class Action
Source: Variety

Variety reports that Charlize Theron will star for Whale Rider director Niki Caro in Class Action, a drama Warner Bros. and Industry Entertainment are developing for a winter start. Written by Michael Seitzman, Class Action is a fictionalized version of the Jensen v. Eveleth Mines case.

Theron will play Josie Aimes, a young mother who flees an abusive husband during the early '70s, heads home to her Minnesota hometown and becomes one of the first women to get jobs in the iron mine that employs most residents, including her father. She and her female co-workers are verbally and physically harassed by their male co-workers. The mine owners turn a deaf ear to their complaints and the women are terrified to lose their jobs. Though she risks being ostracized by her family, Aimes become a Norma Rae-like figure in mobilizing defiance through legal action.

Pending a deal, Theron would make the movie after completing Aeon Flux, the Karyn Kusama-directed futuristic drama being mounted in Berlin this July. Theron will undergo three months of acrobatic training to prepare for the role of a superhuman assassin who has been programmed to kill a political leader.

[Jeremy Blackman]

I'm sure there are plenty of fine actresses who looked like Aileen without makeup, yet Charlize Theron got the part (and did an astounding job with it). Point is, no matter how talented or not you are, or how "ugly" the ROLE is, you have to be much more good-looking than average to even get your foot in the door of an audition.

This is actually my biggest problem with the movie. I think choosing Theron was pretty pointless. My suspicion is that she was chosen only because she's so recognizable and so unlike Aileen. This movie wouldn't be seen had it not been for her transformation.

the only real complaint about Theron's performance that holds any water with me is that it's so incredibly good, it dwarfs the film around it and the other actors, which are not good to the same degree her portrayal of this human "monster" is.

I actually thought Christina Ricci had the best performance of the movie.

The story is great and everything, and it's not a bad movie, but Theron is just...so...distracting. It's not just her physical artificiality, it's her exaggerated and almost parodic acting (at times). The moments that do work, I think, are the more emotional scenes when she reaches for humanity but the mask gets in her way.

In every other moment of the movie, I just see something totally obnoxious in her... It may be convincing, but it's still a cartoon.

[Chest Rockwell]

I've always said the same thing, Blackman, so I agree. Whenever I say it, though, I'm constantly shouted down. Go figure.

[godardian]

I'm sure there are plenty of fine actresses who looked like Aileen without makeup, yet Charlize Theron got the part (and did an astounding job with it). Point is, no matter how talented or not you are, or how "ugly" the ROLE is, you have to be much more good-looking than average to even get your foot in the door of an audition.

This is actually my biggest problem with the movie. I think choosing Theron was pretty pointless. My suspicion is that she was chosen only because she's so recognizable and so unlike Aileen. This movie wouldn't be seen had it not been for her transformation.

the only real complaint about Theron's performance that holds any water with me is that it's so incredibly good, it dwarfs the film around it and the other actors, which are not good to the same degree her portrayal of this human "monster" is.

I actually thought Christina Ricci had the best performance of the movie.

The story is great and everything, and it's not a bad movie, but Theron is just...so...distracting. It's not just her physical artificiality, it's her exaggerated and almost parodic acting (at times). The moments that do work, I think, are the more emotional scenes when she reaches for humanity but the mask gets in her way.

In every other moment of the movie, I just see something totally obnoxious in her... It may be convincing, but it's still a cartoon.

The fact still remains, though, that she nailed this person. I mean, we're clearly talking about a character that was exaggerated in life. She was so "cartoonish" that people wouldn't consider her for a job. It seems that some of the faults you find are with the character, not with the performance. I didn't find anything "exaggerated" or "parodic" that I haven't seen in actual true-life mentally unstable persons, so... I don't think choosing Theron was "pointless," because I do think it was a fine performance. I also think that Theron got the job because she has the looks and some of the celebrity it takes to be in that tiny pool of actors who would ever be considered for any role at all. Her smarts and acting abilities- both of which are abundantly clear to me- are just fortunate, in this scenario. She probably would've gotten the role either way. We can honestly say that there are almost certainly equally fine actresses who physically resemble Aileen more closely, but that shouldn't diminish the great job Theron did. The insane physical standards of Hollywood- even to play someone "ugly"- are the fault of casting agents and producers, not Theron.

[NEON MERCURY]

I've always said the same thing, Blackman, so I agree. Whenever I say it, though, I'm constantly shouted down. Go figure.

"Get up! Stand up!"
-Bob Marley

"Shout! Shout! Let it all out"
-Tears for Fears

"We're not going to take it! No! We ain't going to take it- anymore!"
-Twisted Sister

[Jeremy Blackman]

I mean, we're clearly talking about a character that was exaggerated in life. She was so "cartoonish" that people wouldn't consider her for a job. It seems that some of the faults you find are with the character, not with the performance.

You're probably right. But is that really a good excuse? Doesn't it just shift the blame to the screenwriter or something? Or the act of choosing the story? Or the choice of the context, tone, etc. for the story?

I also think that Theron got the job because she has the looks and some of the celebrity it takes to be in that tiny pool of actors who would ever be considered for any role at all.

I don't think that's it at all, especially for a small movie like this. I think she was chosen for how extreme the transformation would have to be... which just seems so disgustingly political to me.

We can honestly say that there are almost certainly equally fine actresses who physically resemble Aileen more closely, but that shouldn't diminish the great job Theron did. The insane physical standards of Hollywood- even to play someone "ugly"- are the fault of casting agents and producers, not Theron.

And I guess I'm not really blaming Theron for that. I just don't see the performance as something unique to her, and I see her stretching uncomfortably for this role, not really having experience as a versatile actor. I doubt the act of choosing Theron was motivated by her ability to play the role. That's where I'm feeling pointlessness.

But do you disagree that Ricci was great?

[Ghostboy]

I don't know at what point Theron came on as a producer of the film, but I wouldn't be surprised if she read the script before it had any money behind it and spearheaded the project as a.) a means to prove her versatility and talent as an actress and b.) because she probably did care about the story. But that's just a guess.

I think the screenplay had lots of problems, but found Theron flawless. But I disliked Ricci in it, so there you go.

[Ravi]

Theron's performance was one of the best I've seen in a while.  So what if it is better than the movie as a whole?  Would you like it better if her acting was a little worse?  As long as the performance was good, what does it matter whether or not she was chosen for the transformation factor?

[classical gas]

I haven't seen the film yet; but in Theron's defense (if it can be called that), didn't she, as a teen witness her mother murder her abusive father?  I remember reading that somehwere.  Maybe this helped her emotionally with the character, trying to sympathize with her mother, or rather, just letting that emotion and rage that she had out into the performance.  This may justify her choosing or being chosen for this role.

Then again, her mother was at the Independent Spirit Awards, so I may have read a bogus article.

[Ghostboy]

No, you're right, that did happen, although it wasn't murder -- she shot him in self defense.

[Fernando]

Just saw it but first...

i dont know but for me the pacing was off... one minute they dont know each other, the next their kissing, then they run off together just like that... it seemed non fluid whatsoever but i dont know if this was what the director intended... it seemed very amateurish to me

How much more did you want?

*MINOR SPOILERS*

It was set up that Aileen was a loner, she even said she was about to commit suicide until Selby came to her. The opening montage layed out what her life was like as a child, trying to fit in and be accepted and 'hooking' was the only way to do that because, as mentioned, they were paying to be with her. Her only friend was the Bruce Dern character, and even with him she offers to blow him as thanks for a favor. Aileen and Selby made a connection at the bar and Aileen felt 'accepted' when she was invited back to Selby's place. She was told she was beautiful, which I highly doubt she was ever told in her life. They went out on a "date" at the roller rink, Aileen even going the extra mile to look her best for it. When they do consumate their relationship, Selby asks her, "I thought you weren't into girls." Aileen tells her she she's never really been into anyone, and that's because no one ever has been into her.

Mac's answer is exactly why I absolutely loved the film, that scene in particular really moved me. For me the film is about how a person can be transformed by his/her experinces in life, in this case (just take that the film is accurate, although some claim is not, but that's another story) Aileen Wuornos was raped when she was only eight years old, then her family threw her out at 13 because she was a prostitute, then she had the life she had and I don't think anybody that has live that can imagine how horrible is to do that for living or just to survive for that matter, of course you cannnot justify what she did but given the circumstances I couldn't help but feel really sad through out all the film with the exception of the roller skating scene, which made me happy for her, in the end (IMO), she became what she became because of her horrible life.

*MINOR SPOILER*
someone here earlier seemed to complain to a moment of the film being scored to journey.  wow, i really disagreed with this.  i think the moment of ricci and theron kissing right as that buildup finishes in "don't stop believin'" was one of the best movie moments ive seen in a long time (no sarcasm).

I was so overwhelmed in that scene, I too think it was perfect, couldn't help but feel happy but sad at the same time, I really connected and understood her in what she was living, there was a time in my life I felt sort of that way, fortunately I don't anymore.