Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Monster

I saw the movie "Monster" last week. Charlize Theron gives one of the most stunning performances I've ever seen in her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, and while the film isn't historically accurate, it's riveting viewing. I decided after seeing the movie that I wanted to read about Wuornos, and picked up Lethal Intent, which is probably the best-researched book available on her life. It's extremely thorough, and even though the subject matter is terribly depressing, it's very interesting.

Yesterday I happened upon some Amazon reader reviews of the book. They're classics. About 20% of the reviews had comments in them like the following:

"...at times [the author] pissed me off that she could be so harsh in her remarks of Lee as a person."
"Poorly Written and One-Sided"
"I resented the way the author presented Ailene Wuornos."
"Aileen was not a saint, but I would have liked to have read a book where the author could have kept her hatred even slightly veiled."
"I would have preferred a more "unbiased" review of this woman's live. Some writers are simply more adept at this then others; they present both sides of the story (without judgment) and let the reader decide for themselves. I don't feel that she did this."

Oh, my apologies. I had no idea that we were talking about Pippi Longstocking instead of A SERIAL KILLER. "Serial" as in seven. "Killer' as in she-bangs. I can only hope the author issues a public apology for not spending more time on her shy, demure, heart-warming side. Next--an ABC Afterschool Special!

And if you haven't seen "Monster," Theron truly is fantastic.

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