Monster's Ball
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Billy Bob Thornton, Gabrielle Witcher, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Taylor SimpsonBrand: Lions Gate
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-18
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Lions Gate
Movie Reviews of Monster's Ball
Movie Review: Gripping, Authentic, Anti-Hollywood Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Monster's Ball gives us an Anti-Hollywood movie, a movie that excels not with eye candy and fads but with brutal realism set in a starkly portrayed southern USA.I watched Monster's Ball with my wife, who constantly tried to guess out loud what would happen next. She was wrong every time. It's that kind of movie. It's not trying to twist and turn the plot, but it is unexpected because it's not clichéd. Also see: Anti-Hollywood movie.
In the wrong hands, this film could have done the usual Hollywood thing: start preaching about the death penalty or racism. It didn't do that. It told a story about two people who are escaping their painful lives by joining together. The movie has a very explicit sex scene. It is shown so raw and real because the director needed to prove that Hank was not taking advantage of Leticia or raping her. The scene showed us that Hank and Leticia's only refuge from the pain in their lives was when they bonded sexually. If we hadn't seen the actualization of the two characters in the throes of their passion we would have questioned the relationship as it warded off threats the rest of the movie.
It was obvious that many pitfalls lurked in their paths. The film navigated these in a way that intrigues the viewer. Again, it is unpredictable.
This is not a feel good movie. The execution, explicit sex scene, and heaviness were too much for my wife to enjoy the film. I, on the other hand, appreciated what this film did with the story. I really enjoyed the minimalist dialogue. When I look to sum up this film in my mind, I say: here we have a very earthy story that gripped me for the entirety, had no discernable flaws, and was very well performed.
And ironically, the outstanding performance by Halle Berry in a very Anti-Hollywood movie earned her Hollywood accolades in the form of the Oscar.
Summary of Monster's Ball
MONSTER'S BALL (SIGNATURE SERIES) - DVD MovieThe unflinching realism and searing performances of Monster's Ball are stunning in all the connotations of the word. Hank (Billy Bob Thornton) and Leticia (Halle Berry) inhabit stark, queasy realities of the contemporary South, he as a death row corrections officer and she as the soon-to-be widow of an inmate (Sean Combs) whose execution Hank helps conduct. In the aftermath of the execution, both lose their children to tragic deaths and they form an unlikely bond. In the hands of lesser participants, the fateful plot might strain credibility and seem tailored to allow for liberal sermonizing about the obvious wrongs of our legal justice system, but director Marc Forster and cinematographer Roberto Schaefer balance the contentious nature of the film's issues--the death penalty, racism both overt and subtle, interracial couples--with a flawless attention to character and visual detail that completely convinces. The moral ambiguity of both central characters is given full voice as our sympathy is drawn out reluctantly at first but all the more resolutely in the end. Thornton draws from seemingly limitless resources to deliver yet another outstanding performance, but it is Halle Berry who is a revelation as she sustains throughout the complex tenor of brutality witnessed and raw courage defined. --Fionn Meade
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