| Photos (See all 34 | slideshow) | Videos (see all 7) |
| Charlize Theron | ... | Aileen | |
| Christina Ricci | ... | Selby | |
| Bruce Dern | ... | Thomas | |
| Lee Tergesen | ... | Vincent Corey | |
| Annie Corley | ... | Donna | |
| Pruitt Taylor Vince | ... | Gene / Stuttering "John" | |
| Marco St. John | ... | Evan / Undercover "John" | |
| Marc Macaulay | ... | Will / Daddy "John" | |
| Scott Wilson | ... | Horton / Last "John" | |
| Rus Blackwell | ... | Cop | |
| Tim Ware | ... | Chuck | |
| Stephan Jones | ... | Lawyer | |
| Brett Rice | ... | Charles | |
| Kaitlin Riley | ... | Teenage Aileen | |
| Cree Ivey | ... | 7-Year-Old Aileen | |
| Catherine Mangan | ... | Justy | |
| Magdalena Manville | ... | Bar Lap Girl | |
| T. Robert Pigott | ... | Bartender | |
| Romonda Shaver | ... | Employment Agent | |
| Glenn R. Wilder | ... | Restaurant Manager | |
| Elaine Stebbins | ... | Wife at Accident | |
| Kane Hodder | ... | Undercover Cop | |
| Christian Stokes | ... | Undercover Cop (as Christian Page Stokes) | |
| Lyllian Barcaski | ... | Bar Girl | |
| Nonalee Davis | ... | Bar Girl | |
| Bubba Baker | ... | Cubby | |
| Al | ... | Himself (at the Last Resort) | |
| Cannonball | ... | Himself | |
| Chad Vaccarino | ... | Trevor | |
| Gene R. Stephenson | ... | Judge (as Honorable Gene R. Stephenson) | |
| Jesse Stern | ... | Skate Rink Attendant | |
| Bill Boylan | ... | Police Chief | |
| Jim R. Coleman | ... | Newscaster | |
| Chandra Leigh | ... | Cute Teenage Attendant | |
| Lori McDonald | ... | Attendant | |
| Adam Brown | ... | Attendant | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Robb Chamberlain | ... | Prosecutor (uncredited) | |
| Ed Donovan | ... | State Prison Guard (uncredited) | |
| Khris Gibston | ... | Prosecuting Attorney (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Patty Jenkins | |||
Writing credits(WGA) | ||
| Patty Jenkins | (written by) | |
Produced by | |||
| David Alvarado | .... | associate producer | |
| Mark Damon | .... | producer | |
| Andreas Grosch | .... | executive producer | |
| Stewart Hall | .... | executive producer | |
| Donald Kushner | .... | producer | |
| Sammy Lee | .... | executive producer | |
| Brent Morris | .... | co-producer | |
| Clark Peterson | .... | producer | |
| Meagan Riley-Grant | .... | executive producer | |
| Andreas Schmid | .... | executive producer | |
| Charlize Theron | .... | producer | |
| Brad Wyman | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| BT | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Steven Bernstein | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Arthur Coburn | |||
| Jane Kurson | |||
Casting by | |||
| Ferne Cassel | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Edward T. McAvoy | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Orvis Rigsby | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Shawn R. McFall | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Rhona Meyers | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Toni G | .... | personal makeup artist: Charlize Theron | |
| Lee Grimes | .... | key makeup artist | |
| Terrie Irwin | .... | hair assistant (as Terrie L. Irwin) | |
| Rodger Jacobs | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Mary Hedges Lampert | .... | hair assistant (as Mary Lampert) | |
| Jonah Levy | .... | makeup assistant (as Johan Levy) | |
| Carol Rasheed | .... | makeup assistant | |
| Yoichi Art Sakamoto | .... | prosthetic dental technician | |
| Kathe Swanson | .... | key hair stylist | |
| Deborah Brozovich | .... | additional hair stylist (uncredited) | |
| Jeff Standard | .... | additional makeup artist (uncredited) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| David Allen Cluck | .... | first assistant director (as David Cluck) | |
| Guy Livneh | .... | second unit director | |
| Jay Ostrowski | .... | second assistant director | |
| Tony Taylor | .... | second assistant director: second unit | |
| Derek W. Tow | .... | first assistant director: second unit (as Derek Tow) | |
| Derek W. Tow | .... | second second assistant director (as Derek Tow) | |
Art Department | |||
| Eric Baker | .... | additional set dresser | |
| John Balling | .... | lead scenic artist | |
| Bethany Berry-Weiss | .... | additional set dresser | |
| Tammie N. Byers | .... | additional set dresser | |
| Cornellius Carroll | .... | prop master (as Cornelius Carroll) | |
| Stitch Crisp | .... | property master | |
| Michael Edling | .... | construction coordinator (as Michael J. Edling) | |
| Michael Hendrick | .... | swing set dresser (as Michael E. Hendrick) | |
| Bret Kane | .... | additional set dresser (as Bret W.M. Kane) | |
| Jeff 'J.Mac' McDonald | .... | additional set dresser | |
| James Parker | .... | additional set dresser | |
| James B. Perdue | .... | scenic artist | |
| Alan S. Reynolds | .... | scenic artist | |
| Karen Rigsby | .... | art department coordinator | |
| Gene Siegmund | .... | prop master | |
| Mary Jo Snyder | .... | scenic artist | |
| John Tegethoff | .... | additional set dresser | |
| Andrew Wert | .... | assistant property master (as Andrew R. Wert) | |
| Dan Wilkerson | .... | on-set dresser | |
| Jim S. Williams | .... | lead man | |
| Douglas Winters | .... | construction foreman | |
| Rex Christensen | .... | set dresser (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Steven Barkan | .... | live band recordist | |
| John Bires | .... | sound engineer | |
| John Cannon | .... | first assistant sound editor (as John G. Cannon) | |
| Kevin Cerchiai | .... | boom operator | |
| Scott Clements | .... | additional boom operator | |
| Zack Davis | .... | sound designer | |
| Zack Davis | .... | sound supervisor | |
| Robert Deschaine | .... | adr mixer | |
| Peter J. Devlin | .... | production sound mixer (as Peter Devlin) | |
| John Dunn | .... | sound effects editor | |
| Marc Fishman | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Jeff Glueck | .... | audio engineer (as Jeffrey M. Glueck) | |
| Lou Kleinman | .... | dialogue editor | |
| Tony Lamberti | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Carey Milbradt | .... | foley editor | |
| Carey Milbradt | .... | foley mixer | |
| Andy Potvin | .... | consultant: Dolby | |
| Geoffrey G. Rubay | .... | sound designer | |
| Geoffrey G. Rubay | .... | sound supervisor | |
| Tami Treadwell | .... | adr recordist | |
| Karen Vassar Triest | .... | background sound editor (as Karen Vassar) | |
| David Young | .... | audio engineer (as David M. Young) | |
| Steve Bartkowicz | .... | re-recording engineer (uncredited) | |
| Matt Colleran | .... | sound re-recordist (uncredited) | |
Special Effects by | |||
| Phillip Beck | .... | special effects coordinator | |
| Ron Keller | .... | special effects technician | |
| Kevin Morrissey | .... | special effects assistant | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Erik Dehkhoda | .... | digital artist (uncredited) | |
| Christopher Dusendschon | .... | digital imaging supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Elton Garcia | .... | main title designer (uncredited) | |
| Mitch Paulson | .... | digital preview colorist (uncredited) | |
| Adam Stern | .... | digital artist (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| Kane Hodder | .... | stunt coordinator | |
| Shanna Lynn | .... | lead stunt double | |
| Shanna Lynn | .... | stunts | |
| Kiana Politis | .... | stunt performer | |
| Keir Beck | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Caitlin McKenna-Wilkinson | .... | adr voice casting (as Caitlin McKenna) | |
| Kimberly Mullen | .... | casting: Florida | |
| Mark Mullen | .... | casting: Florida | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Al Almeida | .... | wardrobe assistant: Los Angeles | |
| Terri Binion | .... | costumer | |
| Amelia Buhrman | .... | wardrobe assistant: Los Angeles | |
| Claudia Combee | .... | key set costumer | |
| Jen Haines | .... | wardrobe assistant | |
| Emily Harris | .... | costumer: preparation | |
| Andrea Hathaway | .... | wardrobe assistant | |
| Pamela Lee Incardona | .... | costume supervisor (as Pamela Incardona) | |
| Unchin Lee | .... | wardrobe assistant: Los Angeles | |
| Sara McInturff | .... | wardrobe assistant: Los Angeles | |
| Judi Stewart | .... | costumer | |
| Emae Villalobos | .... | costume supervisor | |
Editorial Department | |||
| George Cunningham | .... | assistant editor | |
| Darrel Drinkard | .... | avid technician | |
| Joe Fineman | .... | post-production consultant: EPC | |
| Bob Fredrickson | .... | color timer | |
| Michael Nouryeh | .... | assistant editor | |
| Anthony Santiago | .... | avid technician | |
| Steve Steinhart | .... | post-production | |
Music Department | |||
| BT | .... | score arranger | |
| BT | .... | score producer | |
| Brian Bulman | .... | music editor | |
| Sterling Campbell | .... | musician: drums | |
| Jenée DeAngelis | .... | music coordinator (as Jenée Clark) | |
| Michael DiMattia | .... | music assistant: BT | |
| Richard Fortus | .... | musician: additional guitars | |
| Ben Grossman | .... | musician: hurdy gurdy | |
| Kevin Koloff | .... | music legal (as Kevin Koloff Esq.) | |
| Howard Paar | .... | music supervisor | |
| Steve Perry | .... | music consultant | |
| Winston Roye | .... | musician: additional bass | |
| Joshua Winget | .... | music editor: temp (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Jackie Lee Belcher | .... | driver | |
| Stephen R. Buff | .... | driver | |
| R.H. Campbell | .... | driver | |
| David N. Enfinger | .... | driver | |
| Joseph M. Hancock | .... | driver | |
| Craig M. Hofstrand | .... | driver | |
| Stephen K. Long | .... | transportation captain | |
| Michael Messina | .... | driver: second unit | |
| Danny Mortenson | .... | transportation coordinator (as Daniel J. Mortenson) | |
| James A. Nicosia | .... | driver | |
| Kent L. Spainhour | .... | driver | |
| Gary Thornton | .... | driver (as Gary D. Thornton) | |
| William Randy Warbritton | .... | driver | |
| Doug Wilson | .... | driver | |
| Roland Wilson | .... | driver | |
| David Neil Enfinger | .... | driver (uncredited) | |
Other crew | |||
| Alan Abrams | .... | legal services: Costa, Abrams & Coate LLP (as Alan Abrams Esq.) | |
| Aaron Allen | .... | intern | |
| Tom Alper | .... | production insurance: Speare & Company | |
| David Alvarado | .... | production associate | |
| Craig Anderson | .... | 24 frame video playback technician | |
| Jean Arthur | .... | second assistant: Charlize Theron | |
| Brooks Baldwin | .... | dialect coach | |
| Jane Berliner | .... | production consultant | |
| Greg Bernstein | .... | legal services: Law Offices of Greg S. Bernstein (as Greg S. Bernstein Esq.) | |
| Rick Callan | .... | location manager | |
| Claire Carré | .... | assistant: Patty Jenkins | |
| Katherine S. Chang | .... | production assistant: Los Angeles | |
| Fonte Chapman | .... | intern | |
| Amy Comstock | .... | production accountant | |
| Jennifer Conrader | .... | extras coordinator | |
| Jenny Coyle | .... | stand-in: Christina Ricci | |
| Devin Cutler | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Randy Dannenberg | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Maureen Duffy | .... | completion bond: Film Finance Inc. | |
| Vivian Enfinger | .... | set nurse | |
| Ortwin Freyermuth | .... | legal services (as Ortwin Freyermuth Esq.) | |
| 'Pineapple Dan' Furuya | .... | craft service intern | |
| Karima Gahagan | .... | intern | |
| David Garber | .... | project consultant: Lantern Lane Entertainment | |
| David Gaynes | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Lise Leogrande Ginsberg | .... | extras coordinator | |
| Abby S. Ginsburg | .... | production secretary | |
| Mitchell Goldman | .... | project consultant: Hombre D'Oro Inc. | |
| Luke Halpin | .... | stage manager | |
| Donny Herran | .... | accounting production assistant (as Donny H. Herran) | |
| Lew Horwitz | .... | production financing: The Lewis Horwitz Organization (as Lewis Horwitz) | |
| David Hutkin | .... | production financing: The Lewis Horwitz Organization | |
| Jessica Jenkins | .... | assistant: Patty Jenkins | |
| Tatyana Joffe | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Jessica L. Jordan | .... | assistant: Mark Damon | |
| Linda Kai | .... | location manager | |
| Beth Kono | .... | assistant: Charlize Theron | |
| Roman Kopelevich | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Pierre Kurland | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Tiffany Kyees | .... | stand-in: Charlize Theron | |
| Krystian Lagowski | .... | key production assistant | |
| Fred Leopold | .... | legal services: Leopold, Petrich & Smith (as Fred Leopold Esq.) | |
| Gabriel London | .... | epk director | |
| Stephanie Lowell | .... | script supervisor | |
| Thomas E. Lowry | .... | stage manager | |
| Patrick Mahoney | .... | craft service (as Pat Mahoney) | |
| Ian McCain | .... | key set production assistant | |
| Chris McDaniel | .... | production assistant | |
| Benny Medina | .... | production consultant | |
| Matthew S. Naumann | .... | production assistant | |
| Eva Neufahrt | .... | production controller: VIP | |
| Courtney Nicholas | .... | production assistant | |
| Brian O'Shea | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Lucy Olney | .... | location scout | |
| Diane Pacheco | .... | post-production accountant | |
| Danny Patterson | .... | additional programmer | |
| Whitney Pentzer | .... | stand-in: Charlize Theron | |
| Mark Peterka | .... | production secretary: Los Angeles | |
| Jenna Piccolo | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment (as Jenna Piccolo Esq.) | |
| Jeff Pollack | .... | production consultant | |
| Steve Ransohoff | .... | completion bond: Film Finance Inc. | |
| Mika Roberts | .... | intern | |
| Jerry Rose | .... | 24 frame video playback technician | |
| Mary Ross | .... | location assistant | |
| Ed Santiago | .... | consultant: avid | |
| David Savinski | .... | assistant: Bruce Dern | |
| Paula Schmit | .... | completion bond: Film Finance Inc. | |
| Jason Skweres | .... | intern | |
| Diane Slattery | .... | unit publicist | |
| Reggie Stanley | .... | stage manager | |
| Jesse Stern | .... | story editor | |
| Art Stribley | .... | consultant: financing (as Arthur Stribley) | |
| Philip J. Strina | .... | legal services: Costa, Abrams & Coate LLP (as Philip J. Strina Esq.) | |
| Tamara Stuparich de la Barra | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment (as Tamara Stuparich De La Barra) | |
| Carrie Sweeney | .... | office production assistant | |
| Jelena Tadic | .... | executive: Media 8 Entertainment | |
| Janelle Tubbs | .... | intern | |
| Bruce Vann | .... | legal services: Kelly Lytton & Vann (as Bruce Vann Esq.) | |
| Max Vega | .... | consultant: financing | |
| Halle Vermillion | .... | assistant: Christina Ricci | |
| Brenda White | .... | production coordinator | |
| Alice Wymer | .... | script supervisor: second unit | |
| Christa Zofcin | .... | business/legal affairs executive: Media 8 Entertainment (as Christa Zofcin Esq.) | |
| Kerstin Dyroff | .... | production coordinator: VIP Medienfonds (uncredited) | |
| Aaron B. Koontz | .... | production coordinator (uncredited) | |
| Chandra Leigh | .... | double: Christina Ricci (uncredited) | |
| Chandra Leigh | .... | stand-in: Christina Ricci (uncredited) | |
| David W. Scott | .... | body double: Lee Tergesen (uncredited) | |
| Samantha Tanner | .... | production assistant (uncredited) | |
Thanks | |||
| Rowena Arguelles | .... | thanks | |
| Pat Armstrong | .... | thanks | |
| Spring Aspers | .... | thanks | |
| Jay Baker | .... | thanks | |
| Dawn Botkins | .... | thanks | |
| Nick Broomfield | .... | thanks | |
| Al Bulling | .... | thanks | |
| Vicky Callen | .... | thanks | |
| Chauncey | .... | thanks | |
| Carter Cohn | .... | thanks | |
| Melanie Cook | .... | thanks (as Melanie Cook Esq.) | |
| Renée Dabbah | .... | thanks | |
| Carlos DeMattos | .... | thanks | |
| Michael Eliasberg | .... | thanks (as Michael Eliasberg Esq.) | |
| Paula Erickson | .... | thanks | |
| Heather Fields | .... | thanks | |
| Bob Fukuyama | .... | thanks | |
| Marco Galbraith | .... | thanks (as Police Capt. Marco Galbraith) | |
| Jerome Gary | .... | thanks | |
| Jonah Goldstein | .... | thanks | |
| Cindi Goretski | .... | thanks | |
| Philip Hall | .... | thanks | |
| J.J. Harris | .... | thanks (as JJ Harris) | |
| Rick Hess | .... | thanks | |
| Jared Hoffman | .... | thanks | |
| Toni Howard | .... | thanks | |
| Millie Hsyu | .... | thanks | |
| Mustafa Johnson | .... | thanks | |
| Karol Kamin | .... | thanks | |
| Kevin Kelly | .... | thanks | |
| Linda Kloak | .... | thanks | |
| Bob Knight | .... | thanks | |
| Leigh Ann Lackey | .... | thanks | |
| Tom Lopinski | .... | thanks | |
| Pat Lucas | .... | thanks | |
| Tory Metzger | .... | thanks | |
| Linda Miller | .... | thanks | |
| Suzanne Moss | .... | thanks | |
| Ryan Noto | .... | thanks | |
| Kenny Ochoa | .... | thanks | |
| Dan Passman | .... | thanks (as Danny Passman) | |
| Junior Pence | .... | thanks | |
| Steve Perry | .... | thanks | |
| Richard Pilla | .... | thanks | |
| Jalal Poehlman | .... | thanks | |
| Eric Polin | .... | thanks | |
| Bernie Presha | .... | thanks (as Captain Bernie Presha) | |
| Tonya Puerto | .... | thanks | |
| Emily Roth | .... | thanks | |
| Pat Roth | .... | thanks | |
| Walter Roth | .... | thanks | |
| Mark Rousso | .... | thanks | |
| Chip Shane | .... | thanks | |
| Peter Shane | .... | thanks | |
| Ron Smith | .... | thanks | |
| Jesse Stern | .... | thanks | |
| Harris Tulchin | .... | thanks (as Harris Tulchin Esq.) | |
| Martine Varlot | .... | thanks | |
| William Voight | .... | thanks | |
| Andrew Waller | .... | thanks | |
| Steve Warren | .... | thanks (as Steve Warren Esq.) | |
| Lisa Wohl | .... | thanks | |
| Robert Wyman | .... | thanks (as Bob Wyman Esq.) | |
|
|
|
|
|
| Freeway | The Basketball Diaries | Sleepers | My Own Private Idaho | Head-On |
|
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
IMDb User Rating: |
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Biography section | IMDb USA section |
This is the desperate story of a woman whose child-abused background led her to teenage prostitution and a disgust with herself and humankind before she reached 30, and then, desperate to keep the spurious affection and shabby love, however ill-judged and unbalanced, of an immature, lonely, and rather stupid lesbian, she turns into a serial killer. Based on the life of Aileen Wournos, Patty Jenkins and Charlize Theron have achieved not only a film of excellence and importance, but of a depth and darkness that takes your breath away. Charlize Theron's brilliant, bravura performance, Christine Ricci's impressive supporting acting, Patty Jenkins's direction, and the structure and script, make Monster an impressive film. Despite the depressing themes, all the more accentuated by sad motel rooms, low-life bars, and dismal highway nights when Wournos is seeking clients - and victims - the film is so strong on characterisation and with a script which rings true at every stage (despite some difficulty in understanding the mumbled dialogue between the two leads at times), it leaves a lasting impression of ineffable sadness.
The film works on many levels and the bottom line is a thorough indictment of the dark side of American society. The monster is American society which can produce, through ignorance, prejudice, abusive behaviour, easy gun-license laws, the death penalty, and so on, the kind of people which Aileen and Selby become. They are extreme examples, of course, but the message is clear. And this film does have a message even though it takes pains not to be judgmental. At the centre of the film, when Aileen confesses her first murders to Selby, she says she is okay with the Lord, it is the society that brought her up, the politics and the religion, that made her what she was. If politics and religion justify so many killings, her own killings are justified (as a way of compensating for the rapes, abuse, the inevitable prostitution, leading to more abuse and rape and hatred of men as well as herself). Her logic may be questionable but her point is well made.
I have noticed a recent succession of movies which focus on lesbian killers and the lesbian lead always ends up badly. Is it no longer valid to make film with a heterosexual female aggressor? Do those women have to remain passive, or victims, or at least equal with the men they are teamed with, but the lesbian is still 'the bad guy'. Thelma and Louise were not portrayed as lesbians (although they still had to come to a sticky end because of their crimes), but since then there is a noticeable trend in Hollywood to recognise these lesbian themed movies by giving the leading actresses Oscars - Frances McDormand in Fargo, Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, and now Charlize Theron in Monster. (However, Monster knocks Boys Don't Cry and Fargo into insignificance.)
I wonder about the motives of Hollywood. The film world may pay lip-service to liberal tolerance of female homosexuality by recognising these actress performances, but the overall impression is that lesbians are not good people and I question that audiences will be encouraged to see lesbians as acceptable members of society, given the film examples in front of them.
So, to me, this film was not so much a feminist polemic as a depressing, but gripping, story about alienation and isolation, told in a way which can't help but leave the viewer asking a lot of questions about a society which creates such 'monsters'. Aileen is simply the flip-side of the American dream and, as such, turns the dream extremely sour.