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Pathos isn’t something you expect to feel when watching a serial killer flick. But then real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos isn’t how movies ever imagined serial killers to be. To state the obvious, she was a woman - America’s first female serial killer (as documented in Nick Broomfield's recent Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer). And that’s quite some label to work with. Rather than going with the tale of moral pitfalls and horror that Wuornos’ story might so easily have been moulded into, first-time director Patty Jenkins explores the emotional life beyond her violent misdeeds. Aileen was a prostitute who lived and killed on the road. But here she’s presented as a woman hoping for some happiness through a little bit of love from girlfriend Selby (Christina Ricci), in the face of endless put-downs from the world outside. Not so unlike the rest of us then, as Jenkins subtly suggests. When Aileen gets ready to meet up with Selby, this strange new cipher of hope, her reflection smiles back at us with first-date excitement. But it’s in the mirror of a petrol station (her only place to go and clean up), cruelly underscoring the rock-bottomness of it all. (9/10) Skye Sherwin 26 March 04 Monster, on national release 02 April 04. Aileen: Life And Death Of A Serial Killer, released on DVD 29 March 04. useful link: www.monsterfilm.com The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. conversations
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