IMDb > Monster's Ball (2001)
Monster's Ball
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Monster's Ball (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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Monster's Ball (2001) -- After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard reexamines his attitudes while falling in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
Monster's Ball (2001) -- Hv post
Monster's Ball (2001) -- After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard reexamines his attitudes while falling in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed.
Monster's Ball (2001) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)
Monster's Ball (2001) -- MyMovieScripts.com - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.2/10   35,192 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?

Up 67% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.

Director:

Marc Forster

Writers (WGA):

Milo Addica (written by) &
Will Rokos (written by)

Contact:

View company contact information for Monster's Ball on IMDbPro.

Release Date:

8 February 2002 (USA) more

Genre:

Drama | Romance more

Tagline:

A lifetime of change can happen in a single moment.

Plot:

After a family tragedy, a racist prison guard reexamines his attitudes while falling in love with the African American wife of the last prisoner he executed. full summary | add synopsis

Plot Keywords:

more

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 10 wins & 16 nominations more

NewsDesk:
(152 articles)

Sony Letting Quebec Teach Us About Fathers And Guns
 (From Cinema Blend. 11 November 2009, 8:11 AM, PST)

Precious is an extraordinary film about race
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 11 November 2009, 2:35 AM, PST)

User Comments:

A harrowing, daring film. One of the year's best. **** (out of four) more (504 total)


Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Billy Bob Thornton ... Hank Grotowski

Halle Berry ... Leticia Musgrove
Taylor Simpson ... Lucille
Gabrielle Witcher ... Betty

Heath Ledger ... Sonny Grotowski

Amber Rules ... Vera

Peter Boyle ... Buck Grotowski
Charles Cowan Jr. ... Willie Cooper
Taylor LaGrange ... Darryl Cooper

Mos Def ... Ryrus Cooper
Anthony Bean ... Dappa Smith
Francine Segal ... Georgia Ann Paynes
John McConnell ... Harvey Shoonmaker

Marcus Lyle Brown ... Phil Huggins

Milo Addica ... Tommy Roulaine
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:

Le bal du monstre (Canada: French title)
more

MPAA:

Rated R for strong sexual content, language and violence.

Runtime:

111 min | USA:112 min (unrated director's cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1 more

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Brazil:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Austria:16 (Steiermark) | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | Japan:R-18 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:16 (canton of the Grisons) | USA:NC-17 (original rating) | USA:R (censored version) | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:16+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia)

Filming Locations:

Laplace, Louisiana, USA more


Fun Stuff

Trivia:

The execution of character Lawrence Musgrove was filmed using the actual retired Louisiana electric chair in the very room where it was used. more

Goofs:

Anachronisms: While the movie is supposedly set in the early-'90s, a late-'90s/early-'00s Cadillac Escalade can be seen passing through the foreground as Leticia enters the pawn shop. more

Quotes:

Lawrence Musgrove: I've always believed that a portrait captures a person far better than a photograph. It truly takes a human being to really see a human being. more

Movie Connections:

Referenced in 101 Biggest Celebrity Oops (2004) (TV) more

Soundtrack:

Broken Up and Blue more


FAQ

What are the differences between the R-Rated version and the Unrated Version?
more
64 out of 86 people found the following comment useful.
A harrowing, daring film. One of the year's best. **** (out of four), 3 February 2002
10/10

MONSTER'S BALL / (2001) **** (out of four)

When I finish reading a great book, I don't close it right away. Treasuring the story's emotional grasp, I just sit there and hold it for a minute, enthralled, sensing the character's lives are continuing even as I put the book away.

"Monster's Ball" is a similar experience. The film contains so much truth, vigor, and so many harrowing moments, I just stared at the screen through the ending credits. Even after a second viewing the conviction did not diminish. It really says something about a movie when you know what happens and you're equally as mesmerized every time you watch it.

Most movies about depravity are really about entertainment, but director Marc Forster avoids preachy speeches, big sappy moments, and melodramatic music. Even during the movie's most important scenes, Forster does not overplay the material. He knows that careful, quiet dialogue, and long, silent pauses speak louder than lengthy emotional summaries.

Consider a scene where a character checks his father into an old folk's home. It does not feature long good-byes or conclusive hugs. Instead, it projects unflinching, raw emotion. "You must love him very much," reassures an attendant to the character who replies, "No I don't, but he is my father…"

The character, Hank, is played by Billy Bob Thornton, who makes his Academy Award-winning performance in "Sling Blade" look like SNL material. Hank, bitter and racist, lives in a Southern country house with his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger), and father (Peter Boyle).

Hank and Sonny work as prison guards on death row. Sonny desperately wants out of the family business, especially after an unpleasant emotional reaction to the latest execution. When Hank explodes at him for his mistake, Sonny teaches his father a lesson he will never forget.

The film eventually becomes a story about the relationship between Hank and the widow of the man he has just executed. She's played by Halle Barry, who was paid an extra one-million dollars for doing an extended sex scene completely nude. This is a gradual, yet sudden relationship that is not based on physical attraction or love, but emotional need and depravity.

Forster makes interesting editing choices. During certain scenes, he cuts back and forth between separate occurrences while the central action fills the soundtrack. Especially unique is how he handles a sex scene. While two characters engage in some of the most graphic stimulated sex of last year, Forster flashes images of a caged bird before us. A metaphor of shattered innocence or repressed emotion, perhaps?

Actually, Forster fills "Monster's Ball" with metaphors, including the title itself. He even includes a moving soundtrack of timid rhythms and sudden beats, symbolizing the characters complex states of mind. Forster's haunting, daring feature reminds us why we all love the movies.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Monster's Ball (2001)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Where was this movie shot? Scarface8890
Hank and Leticia. Scarface8890
Underrated movie. Scarface8890
The sex scene wasn't offensive in my opinion. Scarface8890
What Buck said to Leticia crypticbeauty102
Hank cellery
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