Monsters Ball, a depressing examination of two humans that find love through sadness, was a good film, but not a great one. Granted, I saw this film with the highest of expectations. I was expecting great directing, a great plot, great dialogue, great cinematography, great acting, and once the movie was finished I was left dissatisfied in some, not all, respects. I did find the cinematography very good. There was a high attention to detail with camera shots, lighting, etc. The camera always stayed there to simply show you what was happening, and there were no stylistic camera moves, and no special effects...the cinematography just served as a way to give perspective on a tragic southern story. I thought the acting was solid, but not fantastic. Billy Bob Thornton was perfect as a character who is somber and drained of emotion, a character which doesn't require the greatest acting range, but didnt need to. He did a good job, but compared to his genius performances in Sling Blade and A Simple Plan, this role wasnt over the top, but I suppose it never needed to be. On the other side, I found Halle Berrys performance exaggerated. She cries and screams and groans, and I almost found it annoying and overdone. I also couldnt get drawn into the film, or the characters, or the plot, all because of horrible casting. Halle Berry is so light skinned, shes almost white, not to mention drop dead gorgeous, so she didnt seem rightly cast as the tragic figure she played. I also found Hanks (Billy Bob Thornton) change from racism to falling in love with a semi black woman to be way too simple and quick. There was no character examination about this life change. The only reason these two people ever came together is because Latisha (Berry), had hit rock bottom in life and she desperately needed someone, anyone, to take care of her. Because shes so beautiful, and because shes not the type of African American woman where you notice the darkness of her skin, of course Hank would quickly change his racist opinions and fall in love with her. Shes gorgeous and he probably just feels like a lucky man. If she was an actress that wasnt so beautiful, and was more noticeably black, that may have added so much more meaning to the film. I do recommend Monsters Ball, but I dont feel it lived up to its promise. Did Berry deserve that Academy Award, now that's the question. I forget who was nominated in the first place as competitors, but based on other films this year I would say probably not, although one can see the work she put into making this film, an effort thats not to be overlooked. I previously believed Halle Berry and Heath Ledger to be overrated in the movie business, but I now respect Halle Berry and Heath Ledger more as actors. Thornton has been much better though. Anyway, I give this film about a 6 out of 10.
Review of Monster's Ball
