The Speech We Should've Heard

I loved Monster, it was the most moving film I saw this year, and I'm shocked (but in a pleasant way) that it was made and has been so widely acclaimed. Director Patty Jenkins was able to step away from Aileen Wuornos the "Monster," and make a movie that was more nuanced than Nick Broomfield's sham of a documentary and beautifully acted by Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci. However, I wish Theron had gone out of her way (in any of the many spotlight moments she's had) to mention what really made this movie special.

Here's the speech we heard:

This has been such an incredible year. I can't believe this. I don't have a lot of time. I have to thank my incredible director, Patty Jenkins. Thank you, thank you, thank you. All of our producers, Brad, Clark, Meagan, Mark, Donald, Sammy Lee, everybody at Media 8, Bob and everybody at Newmarket, thank you so much for working so hard on this film. My incredible, incredible leading lady Christina Ricci, who I couldn't have done this film without. You are truly the unsung hero of this film.

The Speech we didn't hear:

I'd also like to acknowledge Aileen Wuornos, who lived a more complicated and difficult life than I can imagine. Even though I never met her, through her words and memories I felt like I was inside her head, and although it was not a pleasant experience, the reward of having a greater understanding of her life outweighs all of the awards and acclaim that have come to me. I hope that interest in the movie outlives all of us and humanity can continue to learn from Aileen's tragic story. And obviously, if it wasn't for her life I would not be on this stage today.

Comments

[souris]

the speech we didn't hear charlize give is actually very similar to the speech we did hear hilary swank give in 1999 for her lead actress oscar. portraying another real and complicated person, brandon teena, hilary respected her memory by giving her kudos. that's the difference between class and ass.

[gwen]

Diamanda Galas, one of the most extraordinary singers/activists of this and the last century, brought attention to Wuornos's case a good while back. Here, for instance.

[gwen]

Also here.

[tuckergurl]

David --- We gotta talk. You liked Monster. Really? I mean Charlize was great but ... We really gotta sit down.

[dj]

Angela, please tell me when and where to be sitting and I will be there, with two cups of coffee.

[ari]

Yo, I totally agree, David. Especially after Tim Robbins gave that little speech about seeking help if you're a victim of abuse, I was really waiting for her to say something about social services or, well, something. Eh. Maybe she was just really excited.

[zagg]

I agree 1000 percent.

I thought Monster was incredible. Although Dead Man Walking was very good, I thought Monster did a much better job humanizing the death penalty. I also thought it was tight, well-crafted movie.

I wanted Theron to win and was thoroughly disappointed that she never mentioned Wuornos.

Brief tangent-I've come to appreciate Armond White thanks to your suggestion (for example, I thought he nailed Mystic River perfectly), but I'm perplexed as to why he's been so anti-Monster.

[dj]

Lia pointed me to a great article in the Guardian by Aileen director Nick Broomfield. He talks about Charlize's performance (he loved it) and the Death Penalty in American. His closing paragraph sums it up better than I could have:

The reason that Charlize Theron's role in Monster is so great is because there was enough of Aileen Wuornos for her to base her performance on. Wuornos was the person who gave her that. And in return, we should talk about Wuornos's life.

[chris]

this is in regards to a previous post by souris. you referenced the respect given to the memory of brandon teena, but then went on to show how little you yourself have respect for him, his life, and the many many many other trans people who are living their lives and are constantly objectified or dismissed, by referring to him as her. brandons story is not unusual and trans people are brutally beaten and murdered on a regular basis, still. this one case got recognition, but it's an ongoing problem. by referring to brandon as her you are doing a disservice to the desparate need for change and understanding of each individuals identity and safety.

[Bub]

Aileen Wuornos got exactly what she deserved...a cold-ass hole in the mud. There are legitimate circumstances where there comes time to defend oneself, but Wuornos was nothing but a murdering whore, and she is faring much better than she deserves, because she well ought to be rotting in obscurity now. She lived in the same world that Charlize Theron enjoys celebrity now....Theron went one way and Wuornos went exactly opposite, and most everone else settled into some shade of gray between. Wuornos has the dubious honor of being the shitty gregs of society, much more to choice than circumstance. If ANYTHING, Wuornos' "memory" owes a debt of gratitude to Theron's humanizing this real life monster. That selfish, rotten bitch wasn't born a no-good piece of shit, and although she may have had it hard, the only person who made her a useless rotten whore was herself. People have escaped and even climbed from depths much farther down than Wuornos was ever in, and there is nothing that evidences anything but that Wuornos was simply too lazy and too trashy to do anything other than what she always did...whoring. The movie was oh-so-aptly named, on that you can depend.

[Maximine Feline]

I cannot believe the insensitivity that some have shown towards Eileen's plight and stand behind Dimaanda Galas' tribute to a woman who never stood a chance of living a healthy, productive life filled with love and concern for one another, as so many of us do.
I myself, happen to be an obscure figure in the annals of distorted sexuality, as I am a semi-retired Dominatrix from the Los Angeles area. I would love for one of Diamanda's or Aileen's FORMER clients to spend an hour with me and I would show them the physical and emotional torment that they so nonchalantly spew onto the ladies they prey on.
It is a DAMN SHAME Charlize Theron simply threw herself into a role to seek accolades and applause, as opposed to RAISING SOCIAL CONSCIENCE AND EDUCATION as to what happens to women AND YOUNG MEN who are marginalized, villified and lastly, condemned by the same classes of individuals who don't give a damn about the abused citizens of the world who don't have the resources or esteem of loving individuals who hear their cries and have the COURAGE TO DEFEND THE victims of sexual abuse, neglect and disposability.
Thank you DIAMANDA GALAS FOR SPEAKING UP AND TEACHING US BY EXAMPLE.

[P.Mills]

I was very moved by the Nick Broomfield documentaries about Ailleen Wournis and thought about them for days. I haven't seem the "Monster" movie yet but have been told by some that it's a bit 'Holywood-ised'. I can't express my personal thoughts about the Monster film yet since I haven't seen it.

[Chris Kaye]

The Wournos movie tore my heart out, as Aileen Wournos tore my heart out. I cried and cried for that woman - there but for the grace of goddess go I....

I am also disapointed that Theron did not acknowledge AW, but, I give her that she humanized a human being portrayed as a particularly dangerous monster. I think the movie was good for the general population to see. Hopefully they think twice before they decide someone's got to die for the sake of "justice".