Monster's Ball

Released 2001
Stars Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle, Heath Ledger, Sean Combs, Coronji Calhoun
Directed by Marc Forster

This is a good movie, but I think I came in with too high of expectations. It's rare that I do that, but somehow all of the hype got to me. I'm afraid the part I was the most disappointed by was Halle Berry, who I didn't think was very good. First of all, I have trouble buying her in a poor black role. When she pulls out the ebonics, it sounds like O. J. trying to get down with some homeys. It's ridiculous. I think she's too beautiful and intelligent to be believable in such a role. Worse than that, however, was her lack of grief after losing her son. A day after he died, she seemed to forget about him. I don't think it was the script's fault, because she should have been able to project her grief with her demeanor and body language. I don't know if she has any kids in real life, but I'd be devastated if I lost a child. It would be something that would permeate my being, but it certainly didn't permeate Leticia. In fact, she seemed to be so carefree afterward, I thought she was actually responsible for his death. She talked about how they were going to do an autopsy, and it seemed she was afraid she'd get caught. Her Oscar was not warranted. It was one of those political moves they do every now and then (see Marlee Matlin and Best Picture nominee "Babe"). Her performance wasn't terrible, but she didn't have the chops to pull a terribly difficult role. The same can be said for Sean P-Dippy Combs, who was seriously miscast. Billy Bob Thornton and Peter Boyle, on the other hand, were outstanding. You can always count on Billy Bob to deliver the goods, and I was quite surprised by Peter Boyle. I think of him as a comedic actor, but he nailed this role. If there were Oscars to be handed out, he could have gotten one for Best Supporting Actor.

With the lone exception of Tyrell's death (which was a clumsily handled plot device), this is a great story. It has its own rhythms and pacing, and it avoids obvious plot points and turns. It takes a handful of miserable people and lets a couple of them come together at a point when they most need someone. The story also handles abusive parents in an interesting way that I don't think I've seen before. Buck is a rather despicable person, but Hank and Leticia have good qualities in addition to their bad ones. It's weird when you see a parent you don't know disciplining their child, because it always seems extreme. The problem is you don't know the reasons behind it. This story gives us extreme examples of discipline with extreme consequences, but not the consequences we expect.

Summary by Bill Alward, July 2, 2002