Halle Berry
and Coronji Calhorn in Monster's ball.
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At last we
get the chance to see the performance that won Halle Berry an historic
Oscar.
Neil Heath
And what a truly remarkable performance it is, and the other performances
are also very good.
The Plot
The term 'Monster's
Ball' applies to the condemned man's last night, in which the prison
guards would grant him a party, to make his last hours as easy as
possible.
In this case it's Lawrence Musgrove (Combs, aka P. Diddy) that's
awaiting the chair for murdering a policeman.
His wife Leticia (Berry) and his son Tyrell (Calhorn), anxiously
wait, as the inevitable is about to happen. Ironically it's Leticia
and not Lawrence that seemingly has little to live for.
On the other side of the story Hank Grotowski (Thornton) and his
son, Sonny (Ledger), are corrections officers who're in charge of
Lawrence's execution.
Hank's been living under the rule of his racist, unforgiving Father
(Boyle) for a lifetime, and it's seemingly rubbed off on him, but
not on Sonny.
But when tragic
events effect both Leticia and Hank, an unlikely relationship (considering
their connections to Lawrence Musgrove) ensues and a kind of hope
is rekindled.
Review
Monster's Ball is a truly brilliant film. From what seems initially
like a depressing film, comes a pathos fuelled work of originality.
Halle Berry
is superb as Leticia. She's perfect as the hopeless single parent
that's seemingly going nowhere in life and who finds solace in Mr
Jack Daniels.
In order to make the film work, Thornton's performance also has
to be right, and he doesn't disappoint.
Without saying so, it's apparent from Thornton's performance that
by living in the shadow of his abusive Father he's effectively ruined
his own life.
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| Halle Berry
plays Leticia Musgrove. |
Something
that will be made a lot of now and in the future will be the love
making scene between Leticia and Hank, it will go down as one of
cinema's most dramatic and believable sex scenes.
It says so much, Leticia cries "I want to feel good" -
years of disappointment and tragedy bring her ferocious passion,
and from here it's evident her life will get better.
It's plot suggests
we're not going to be smiling all the way through its duration,
but Monster's Ball turns out to be a thoughtful and a strangely
warm film, that'll stay with you for days after.
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