Best Actress 2003: Charlize Theron in Monster

Charlize Theron received her first Oscar nomination and won for playing Aileen Wuornos in Monster. Aileen is a street hooker who meets Celby Wall (Christina RIcci, who is much better then the first time I saw the movie), a lesbian who she falls in love with. But after being being raped and nearly killed, Aileen kills the man who tried to kill her and becomes a serial killer.

Monster is a very interesting, even entertaining film that might stumble a bit once Aileen is being tracked down by the police, but is still worth seeing, much thanks to Charlize Theron's performance. Theron plays Aileen so realistically- You never really see any acting at all, which why when I watched it, I thought well it isn't really a performance at all. It's that believable. Aileen is an ignorant, uneducated woman, but we feel sorry for her and care about her despite her horrible actions. Theron completely brings Aileen to life- She captures her anger, her bitterness, and her determination and how she grows to care for Celby. It's very clear that Aileen comes to love and as I've said, care about Celby very much and it's she above all that gives her the strength to survive.

Some of the best moments in Charlize Theron's performance is when she is in-voice over. Theron digs deep inside her character and never lets go, forcing us to see the world from Aileen's eyes, and I have to admit it, that there is some truth in what Aileen thinks. Her chemistry with Ricci is flawless, both actresses are completely convincing and play each other off perfectly. Also, both Ricci and Theron do an excellent job in developing how their characters feel about each other- Celby starts out by being the one who feels like she's being used, but actually begins to be the one who is the user. While with Aileen it's the opposite (Although Aileen never used Celby, but just wanted to be friends with her).

Charlize Theron gives a fierce, brilliant performance which gets