Monster's Ball
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Movie Reviews of Monster's Ball
Movie Review: Excellent and Thought Provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
I think Monster's Ball is one of the best movies I've seen because it so accurately depicts the racial issues that bring people together and the ones which divide them. I like Billy Bob Thornton's work, and he was at the top of his form in this movie. I also like Halle Berry's work; she was outstanding in Monster's Ball. Together as Hank and Leticia they portrayed their characters in realistic, believable detail. Hank is not a very sympathetic character in the beginning of the movie. He seems to be walking through the events in his life on auto-pilot, and there's not much room for emotional interaction in his character. Leticia seems to be getting through her life in much the same way as Hank, only Leticia is obviously holding it all together with more difficulty and with the additional help from cigarettes and the occasional drink. Where Hank's life is routine but settled insofar as his job and financial position is concerned, Leticia's life is cluttered with a number of serious problems like the execution of her husband, the probability of losing her house, a job change, and a number of other issues. She's doing the best she can with what she's got, but the strain is always present in her body language and in her face. Hank and Leticia connect when they each suffer the loss of their sons. This one circumstance forms the basis for their growing attachment to each other. As the relationship progresses, Hank becomes less the automaton and a much more sympathetic character. Leticia loses some of that tension she carries around with her like second skin. It appears they've both found a new beginning in life which neither of them would have believed could happen. But, after all, the title of this movie is Monster's Ball; reality does intrude before everyone gets too comfortable in his or her better life.
It would be an oversimplification of the issues in Monster's Ball to let the explanation for the message in this film go at that. It is about racism and the implications of that mind set. It's about men and women, and how they perceive circumstances. And I think it's about who we are and the events which shape us into what we are. It is also about the interracial aspects of a relationship, and how that in itself affects not only the people in the relationship but those around them as well.
I highly recommend this intelligent, thought provoking, and well done movie.
Movie Review: brilliant allegory of American racial history
Summary: 5 Stars
This film should be shown in every American History class, as it captures the essence of American racial/social history as well as showing some rays of hope for a better future in American race relations. Billy Bob Thornton puts in another top-notch performance (can't remember the last time I saw him give a BAD performance) as a man who helps electrocute people for a living. His father is a classic Southern conservative redneck---ossified, miserable and misery-spreading---whose poison makes his son a casual racist and equally miserable and repressed male, who drives his own son to suicide. At which point Thornton and Berry's paths meet (a series of fortuitous catastrophes and coincidences which slightly stretch credulity) and their relationship transforms him away from the redneck Neaderthal paradigm of his father, whom he finally puts away where he belongs---in a nursing home (ironically run by mostly black people!) so he can rot away without ruining his son's life anymore.
That one night with Berry could so completely transform a man is a bit hard to swallow, as drop-dead gorgeous a woman as she is, but somehow Thornton makes us believe it's possible. Berry finds out that Thornton is one of the men who helped execute her husband (who she no longer loved anyway) and is stunned but doesn't hold it against him. The beautiful thing about this film is that as the camera fades out at the end, we are not subjected to the typical Hollywood cornball ending of a Big-Happy-Wedding-and-Happily-Ever-After riding off into the sunset that cheesier directors (e.g. the earlier Spielberg) would've taken. Instead you see the two of them side by side looking up at the stars---tentatively, not completely sure of each other and where they're going, but quietly daring to hope for better days ahead, together.
"Monster's Ball" is perhaps a meditation on what has to die in order for other things to live. Berry's husband, her semi-retarded son; Thornton's own son (his blood sacrifice) and not soon enough, his miserable and evil redneck father. It suggests, darkly, that those things which hold us down must wither away before we can hope to fly again.
Reality and American history is what it is, so if you're looking for quick-and-lazy emotional-candy/escapism then stick with the kitschy garbage that comprises the other 95% of Hollywood movies.
Movie Review: Mindblowing journey into life's realities
Summary: 5 Stars
Much has already be said about the movie storyline, so I won't go into those details. This is a very moving reality-bites kind of movie that will live in you long after you've watched it. Breaking out of the traditional climatic-end continuous storyline moviemaking trend, this one takes the viewer into a journey of the mind -- you'll force yourself to predict what will happen next, or what the characters should do but never reach a foolproof 'conclusion'. The story borders on the dilemma of Leticia, a single mother whose husband has been electrocuted by the Corrections Department. The story turns and twists and Halle Berry (Leticia) ends up getting into an affair with the same corrections officer who oversaw her husband's execution. There are plentiful twists in the tale to summarise here, but as a viewer of many foriegn films and offbeat movies, this one is definitely a welcoming relief from the normal-everyday Hollywood movies. And, btw, those who kept focussing on Halle Berry being 'naked' in the film,... yes, those scenes are quite graphic by everyday standards, but there is way more to the film than just those parts. They simply complement the main theme, and makes it more poignant. As I watched the movie, I tried making decisions for the charcaters -- like the scence where Hank (Thronton -- the corrections officer) drives past Halle Berry and her son, lying on the side of the road on a stormy night ... . He can hear Leticia screaming out for help, but his mind is split into dilemmas that he himself cannot overcome -- on one hand his father had told him, ..."stay away from niggers", and yes, he didn't like blacks himself, but then again, with the recent loss of his son who killed himself unable to bear his father (Hank's) insensitive nature, makes him ponder. He stops the car, and backs up,... for some reason he feels he should help this black lady and her child,... . The rain pouring outside, Hank in the car - stuck in this psychotic debate , Leticia outside crying for help. Definitely worth the watch, go for it, and if you are a serious movie critic, you'll want to see it over again -- after a long time, I finally got to see a Hollywood production of the Leaving Las vegas/Seven/... kind of unusual yet mindblowing proportions. Go for it !!!Movie Review: From Loneliness to Love
Summary: 5 Stars
Since Halle Berry was awarded numerous awards for this movie, and given so much praise, I decided to rent "Monster's Ball" just to see what the fuss was all about. After watching it, I was in awe, and feel that this movie should have been commended more than it was.
The story starts off with Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a corrections officer who lives with his father, a retired officer (who is also a racist) and his son, Sonny (who is an officer only to make his father proud of him). Hank is also a racist because he follows in his father's footsteps. Hank hates his son because he feels like Sonny is too weak like his mother. However, tragedy strikes which make Hank think about his values in life, and what is really important. One day he meets Leticia Musgrove (Halle Berry), an African-American woman who is lying on the road with her unconscious son, screaming for help. He takes them to the hospital, and forms a connection with her. The story continues with Leticia and Hank's relationship.
Marc Forster (who also directed Finding Neverland) did flawless job in directing this movie. Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle acted well for their roles. But I feel the main credit goes to Halle Berry. I think she did incredibly well for her role as Leticia. Although there is a lot of debate as to whether she should have won the Academy Award or not, I personally feel that she deserved the award for her role in this film. To boldly play a role on a controversial story in one thing, but to act it well is another thing, and I think Halle Berry did very well in that aspect.
Furthermore, the chemistry between Hank and Leticia is portrayed nicely in the movie, where we get to see two people, who are suffering emotionally for all the mistakes that they made, and find some kind of solace when they meet one another, which eventually turns into love. Another aspect of the movie that impressed me was the background score. The dark, haunting music really went well with the scenes, and I applaud Asche and Spencer for their work.
All in all, I would definitely watch "Monster's Ball" again because it is one of the best movies that I have seen in a long time.
Movie Review: A very real and troubled world, and yet love prevails.
Summary: 5 Stars
Starring Billy Bob Thornton as Hank and Halle Berry as Leticia, this is the story is about a racist corrections officer who falls in love with the African-American widow of a man in whose execution he participated. Including the condemned man, played by Puffy Combs, three people die, and the shock of their deaths catapult the characters into a situation where chance and desperate need bring these two people together. The film is hard to watch, especially because of the unflinching racism, words hurled in anger and rage which I, in my protected New York lifestyle, have never heard spoken aloud. And yet, none of these very flawed human beings come across as stereotypes.Billy Bob Thornton is one of the finest actors in the film world today, and his performance is nothing short of outstanding. We hate him for his racist beliefs and yet we see a gradual humanity creep in, as he respects the last wishes of the condemned man and is infuriated by his own son, also a corrections officer, who shows weakness during the execution. Peter Boyle is cast as Hank's father, his racism becoming stronger as he is aging and his health failing. Throughout, he's unrepentant and represents the old and cruel way of the South. Heath Ledger is cast as Sonny, Hank's son, a young man who is being pushed too hard to accept his father's lifestyle. And Halle Berry, is not only pretty, but has the ability to show complex emotion with just her eyes. Every scene she's in is real and poignant, especially the scenes she has with her overweight son, Tyrell, played by Coronji Calhoun who is excellent in his first film role. Together, the actors create a real and troubled world and I must say that this is one of the best casting jobs I have ever seen.
Directed by a young Swiss director, Mark Forster, the original screenplay was written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. With less talented people, there could have been too much melodrama, but the story is told with dignity and restraint in spite of its outrageous theme. Every line of dialogue rings true. And the cinematography of the working-class Georgia town puts the viewer right there. Wonderful in every way. It rates my highest recommendation.