Monster

"Based on a true story."

2003 1h 49m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

🍅

81%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.3

IMDB

★7.2TMDB · 2,640🍅81%Rotten Tomatoes●74Metacritic★7.3IMDB · 172,078

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

In 1989, prostitute Aileen Wuornos befriends and enters a relationship with a young woman named Selby. Determined to straighten out her life, Aileen's limited education lands her back on the corner. She's raped by a trick, who she kills. A string of murder and robbery follows that ultimately leads Aileen to becoming America's first female serial killer.

“Based on a true story.”

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Cast

Charlize Theron
Aileen Wuornos
Christina Ricci
Selby Wall
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"

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Patty Jenkins
Writers: Patty Jenkins
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 7.3× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

234+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Patty Jenkins, shot by Steven Bernstein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by BT. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jane Kurson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Patty Jenkins directs. Steven Bernstein behind the camera. BT scores. Jane Kurson cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, Germany. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 7.3× over at the box office.
2Released 23 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: United States of America, Germany.
4234+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Patty Jenkins, shot by Steven Bernstein. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by BT. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Jane Kurson shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Charlize Theron and Christina Ricci and Bruce Dern carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Based on a true story.".
10IMDB entry: tt0340855 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 21 themes, including "death penalty", "prostitute", "rape", "sexual abuse".

The technical file

Cinematography: Steven Bernstein
Original score: BT
Editing: Jane Kurson
Production design: Edward T. McAvoy
Costume design: Rhona Meyers
Makeup / hair: Toni G
VFX supervisor: Christopher Dusendschon
Sound: Geoffrey G. Rubay
Stunt coordinator: Kane Hodder
Runtime: 109 min · 1h 49m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,000,000
Box office: $58,469,210
Return: 731% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Monster (2003)
Rotten Tomatoes: 81% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 74/100
IMDB rating: 7.3/10 · 172,078 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

Won 1 Oscar. 31 wins & 26 nominations total

Academy Award for Best Actress

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Patty Jenkins

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-03-29
★ 7/10
We can be as different as we wanna be, but you can't kill people! Monster is the bleak story of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute and one of America's most notorious female serial killers. Based around facts of her life and death, the film primarily focuses on the last year of her freedom. Where after entering into a strange lesbian relationship with Selby Wall, Wuornos, fed up of being a abused by men, starts killing those calling on her services. Sad and potent is Patty Jenkins' first full length directorial effort. Though perhaps a touch guilty of pandering to Wuornos' own self created "monster" image, the film none the less has the right blend of sympathy and revulsion to make it a fascinating, if uneasy, experience. Former model Charlize Theron goes through a major transformation to become Wuornos, so much so she's practically unrecognisable. Bulked up in weight and with beaten down make up withering her face, Theron goes on to give a towering performance as the troubled, on the edge killer. Without any thrills or hints of histrionics, Theron is uncompromising throughout the picture. To garner empathy with such an abrasive character is quite a trick, then to switch to monstrosity with conviction seconds later? Well that's almost magical in itself. Theron is backed up well by Christina Ricci as Selby. Selby Wall, an immature young lady oblivious to the dark path she is walking down, is given a great portrayal from Ricci. In light of the powerhouse show from Theron, it's much credit to Ricci that she enhances the film with her own delicate characteristics. Helping to emphasise the strangeness of the union in the process. It's a tough film for sure, and come the final credits one is left with a feeling of sympathy towards Wuornos and the life she lived. If that be right or wrong is of course up to the individual viewer. Or if that was even Jenkins' intention is probably up for debate. But Monster exists and survives as a bitter character study of a desperate woman, which through the medium of cinema, makes us the viewers privy to something very edgy indeed. 7.5/10
Andre Gonzales2023-08-01
★ 5/10
The movie was alright. It was more of a sadistic type of love story. What they failed to capture is really how nuts she was. Like do less of a love story and more of her psychoness. The bitch was crazy! All the crazy interviews with her and all the outbursts she did in court, where's that? This movie almost tried to make you feel sorry for her when they really didn't show just how crazy she really was.
CinemaSerf2025-10-26
★ 7/10
Charlize Theron is really quite convincing as the down-at-heel Aileen Wuornos, a real life character who went from hooker to serial killer in late 1980s Florida in the United States. Her’s is a dangerous profession where she encounters some of life’s slime who may pay her with cash or with a beating. It’s after one particularly toxic encounter that she finds herself in a gay bar where she meets Selby (Christina Ricci). Initially very sceptical of her new friend’s motives, she quickly finds herself determined to raise her game and try to provide for both of them. That is when she realises that she can lure her sex-starved gents and then instead of satisfying their needs, she can put six bullets into them and walk off with their wallets. Now she is clearly a little psychotic but she’s not inherently evil - indeed she does occasionally take pity on her more pitiful marks. For the most part, though, she is ruthless and of course that attracts the Feds and also puts her already strained relationship with Selby at risk. History tells us just what happened to her, but even though there can be no excusing her vengeful retribution, Theron still manages to imbue this woman with a sense of tenacious decency. The real Wuornos had clearly been exposed to abusive deprivation since she was a teenager and had had to think on her feet as best she could throughout her life, and that is powerfully captured here with some solid writing and combative spirit from both women who have always had their battles to fight. It presents a potent look at the sleazy underbelly of a society where sex is a commodity and it’s clients little better than rutting animals, and at times the story is quite difficult to watch. The ending is a little overly compacted and rushed, but it’s convincingly gritty and human throughout.