There
has been much talk about Halle Berry's gutsy performance in Monster's Ball. In
fact, the turn has garnered her an Oscar nomination. The truth is, Berry is quite
effective in this role, giving a performance that is both uninhibited and quite
vulnerable. What I can't seem to understand is why Billy Bob Thornton has gone
virtually unmentioned on the award circuit. He gave not one, but three incredibly
diverse performances last year. While I loved his work in The Man Who Wasn't There
and Bandits, I felt his part in Monster's Ball was the richest in character. I
would have nominated him for an Oscar over Sean Penn in a heartbeat.
Monster's
Ball is the story of two lonely souls who form a most unlikely relationship. Berry
is a poor African American woman who must endure dealing with the death of her
crooked husband (Sean "Puffy" Combs), a thug of a man who's spent the
last eleven years on death row, leaving his wife to deal with their son. Thornton
is the racist prison security guard who oversees the execution. After a series
of tragic and most unexpected events, these two opposites find themselves in a
strange situation, and learn they have more in common than one might expect.
Again,
Berry is fantastic and so is Thornton, but I'd also like to mention the supporting
players. Peter Boyle is riveting and an absolute monster as Thornton's father,
while Heath Ledger is quietly effective as Thornton's confused son.
To
simply call Monster's Ball a story about race would be unfair. While the film
certainly deals with issues of race, it is the subtlety of the blooming relationship
that really gives this picture it's power. This film has quite a bit in common
with Paul Schrader's brilliant Affliction, a movie that deftly displays how hate
is passed from generation to generation. It's when Monster's Ball deals with familiar
issues in a familiar way, that the movie really slows down. For example, there
is a moment in Monster's Ball when Berry takes a gift to Thornton, only when she
arrives, she is greeted by Thornton's beast of a father. The minute the two meet,
we the audience await the inevitable off-color remark that we know Boyle will
make. There is no element of surprise here, rather just a most expected comment.
On the other hand, Monster's Ball does not come without it's share of dramatic
surprises. One is a true shocker, and I had no idea it was coming. Ultimately,
this is a depressing film, but rest assured that there is a bit of light at the
end of the tunnel.
I
have colleagues who saw the film before I did, and although they liked it, they
did have complaints about the adult content in this picture. There are some very
explicit sex scenes in this movie, but I didn't feel they were gratuitous. This
is a movie made for adults, but it isn't an adult movie. I felt that these scenes
were important, in that they were displaying an intimacy that couldn't have been
established if the film makers cut away. This is an up close and personal look
at the early stages of a relationship, and the two major scenes in question aren't
merely about sex. Their about an emotional release from two people who haven't
felt real love in a long time.
Monster's
Ball isn't a perfect film but it is a provocative one that will have audiences
discussing it after they've left the theater. And while this character study does
have it's share of slow stretches and moments that don't quite feel developed
enough, it's powerhouse performances are enough to make the movie worth watching.
