Monster's Ball describes a felon's last meal before their execution. Monster's Ball is subtle, brutal and hopeful; a fine piece of film making.
Billy Bob Thornton plays Hank who heads the killing team in a Georgian prison in early 1990's America. The prisoner is Lawrence, a self confessed `bad man'. Australian Heath Ledger plays Hank's son Sonny who is also on the team.
Lawrence's former wife Leticia (Halle Berry) is struggling to keep house and home together for herself and her son. Tragic circumstances bring Leticia and Hank together. Halle Berry Won Best Actress for her performance. Billy Bob Thornton could easily have won the male version for his.
Such a plot could easily follow the accepted conventions. Monster's Ball avoids this by allowing the characters to be molded by their circumstances. It's a study of compromise, desperation and maturation.
Both Hank and Leticia experience hard won moments of revelation; life changing, fug clearing scenes where fundamental shifts happen in the way they view the world. And particularly in Hank's case, these moments aren't bellowed at us on the screen: we experience Hank's epiphany in retrospect, as we view his subsequent actions.
Most films happily trot out type cast actors for type cast characters. Refreshingly Monster's Ball takes as a given that we humans are complex, contrary creatures, and slow learners to boot.
It recognizes that most of us might only experience fundamental changes in attitude a few times in our life, and that a change will have many causes.
Monster's Ball is a wonderful comment on racism and on absolute bigotry but it's much more besides. There's no room for flawless characters in a film that paints such a nasty picture of the worst of us, and also a hopeful painting of those desperate enough to treat others with less distrust and more dignity.
And it treats chocolate ice cream with the dignity chocolate ice cream deserves. Such seemingly small matters as ice cream do often glue our lives together.
A clever script, deft direction and stand out performances from all the major players make this Monster's Ball well worth attending.
4 And A Half Flys Out Of Five
Billy Bob Thornton plays Hank who heads the killing team in a Georgian prison in early 1990's America. The prisoner is Lawrence, a self confessed `bad man'. Australian Heath Ledger plays Hank's son Sonny who is also on the team.
Lawrence's former wife Leticia (Halle Berry) is struggling to keep house and home together for herself and her son. Tragic circumstances bring Leticia and Hank together. Halle Berry Won Best Actress for her performance. Billy Bob Thornton could easily have won the male version for his.
Such a plot could easily follow the accepted conventions. Monster's Ball avoids this by allowing the characters to be molded by their circumstances. It's a study of compromise, desperation and maturation.
Both Hank and Leticia experience hard won moments of revelation; life changing, fug clearing scenes where fundamental shifts happen in the way they view the world. And particularly in Hank's case, these moments aren't bellowed at us on the screen: we experience Hank's epiphany in retrospect, as we view his subsequent actions.
Most films happily trot out type cast actors for type cast characters. Refreshingly Monster's Ball takes as a given that we humans are complex, contrary creatures, and slow learners to boot.
It recognizes that most of us might only experience fundamental changes in attitude a few times in our life, and that a change will have many causes.
Monster's Ball is a wonderful comment on racism and on absolute bigotry but it's much more besides. There's no room for flawless characters in a film that paints such a nasty picture of the worst of us, and also a hopeful painting of those desperate enough to treat others with less distrust and more dignity.
And it treats chocolate ice cream with the dignity chocolate ice cream deserves. Such seemingly small matters as ice cream do often glue our lives together.
A clever script, deft direction and stand out performances from all the major players make this Monster's Ball well worth attending.
4 And A Half Flys Out Of Five