Patty Jenkins unveils “Monster” in 2003. Awarded an Oscar and nominated in about twenty festivals, the film foreshadows the feminist revolutions that will take place nearly two decades after its release. The film tells the true story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute from Daytona Beach who will become a “serial killer”. The feature film depicts her long metamorphosis into a monster! But in this particular case, who is truly guilty?
Monster: The genesis of the monster?
How to give a human face to a serial killer? That was the challenge that Patty Jenkins took on. Before descending into darkness, Aileen Wuornos is mistreated by her “clients”, by the society she desperately tries to integrate into, and even by her great love. Indeed, after meeting the latter, especially after being severely mistreated by a client whom she ended up killing in “self-defense”, Aileen tries to reintegrate into society. But as a former prostitute, the doors automatically close in front of her. It’s ultimately her great love who asks her to prostitute herself to meet their needs.
So, desperate, she returns to the boulevards, but this time, she can’t take it anymore. What follows is a long criminal odyssey. This story is based on a true story. When Aileen Wuornos is arrested, she pleads self-defense. Her defense will not be upheld. She is executed in 2002.
Monster: Who is the monster?
Even today, in 2024, Patty Jenkins will have suffered the same fate. But in this kind of particular case, we are led to wonder, “Who is the monster?” Because the film begins with the childhood of the killer portrayed by Charlize Theron, and from her adolescence, misfortune predestines her to prostitution. Every time she tries to break free from this vicious circle, she returns to it. Her concubine also relies on her activities to live.
When she explains herself to her concubine Selby, portrayed by the great Christina Ricci, about her murders, she exclaims, “But who are these people?” From the outset, she seeks to justify her murders by the rape she suffers as a prostitute. Does this rape inflicted on her as a prostitute justify her defending herself by murder? To this question, the courts have always provided a negative answer. But the fate that predestined Aileen Wuornos to this life of prostitution and then serial killing, just like the sentence that led her to death in 2002, reflects the foundation of our societies, which, although respectful of rights, can be unjust. Aileen Wuornos finds a human face in Patty Jenkins‘ film one year after being executed.
