Monster’s Ball
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: B Film: B
It was an
unforgettable moment of triumph when Halle Berry deservedly won her Academy Award
for playing Leticia in Monster’s Ball
(2001), but we can only hope it does not stop people from seeing the film,
because it offers far more than just good acting in a marginal film. Instead, Marc Forster’s film is a stunning
indictment of institutionalized racism and why it has got to go, achieving all
this without being preachy, sentimental, and pulling no punches.
Leticia
is in an ugly dilemma, barely making enough money to survive, a husband (Sean
Combs) who is on death row, and a son with self-esteem and weight
problems. Hank (Billy Bob Thornton at
his best) and his father (Peter Boyle, in a role that references his underseen,
underappreciated 1970 film Joe) are
two generations of explicitly racist men who happen to run death row. Especially this being the South, most of the
final visitors happen to be young African American males. This circumstance creates a
subtle-but-vicious cycle of more hate and wasted life. The ones who live are not immune.
Hank’s
jail guard son (Heath Ledger in the kind of role he needs to take on more
often) could be the third generation of this nightmare legacy, but he may be
the first sign of resistance. Hank is
bothered by this, but in a way that becomes unexpected when he starts to notice
Leticia working at the local diner. They
have no idea what degree of separation stands between them and tragedy, or is
that additional tragedy.
And that
is just the very beginning of the layered approach the Milo Addica/Will Rokos
screenplay weaves to make this film have maximum impact at every turn. Even when you think you can predict it, there
is always a surprise at every corner and the acting ensemble never quits. But even more than Thornton, so reliable in serious
filmmaking, is Berry.
She had already demonstrated that she was a talented actress in
everything from Bulworth, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, and Losing Isaiah to her unrecognizable
debut in Jungle Fever, but the
material and opportunity synthesize with her talent here in a way no one was
expecting.
Before,
you believe her pain over her life and the tragedy that befalls the people she
loves, and there is the amazing sexual encounter that packs a wallop because of
the intense narrative placement it has.
There are even more surprises from her after that, but it is before Eros
that a remarkable moment happens.
Leticia is drunk, alone, cannot take it anymore, but is not crying. She has done more than enough of that
lately. Instead, she starts to laugh and
gain a new sense of self awareness. This
happens slowly, in a cloud of pain and confusion, while she has just gotten
drunk, and now wondering what will happen in her life next. All things spoken are out of love and from
the heart, and she just goes for it expressing herself. She deserved the Academy Award for this
moment alone, if nothing else. It is one
of the most important moments in film acting in a decade.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is not bad, with good color and
depth. It is not top of the line, but
plays well enough. Director of
Photography Roberto Schaeffer gets the cameras in there to give you a sense of
really being there, which is another asset to the film, and especially one
where people and issues are so prominent.
I love the camerawork on this film and the cameraman’s previous work was
on Christopher Guest comedies! I cannot
wait to see his work on Stay.
The Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix shows the limits of the film’s budget somewhat and made me want
to hear this in DTS. Now that Lion’s
Gate owns Artisan, let’s hope they pick up their acquisition’s occasional
tendency to use DTS. This is a
dialogue-based film, so the expectation was not for a whirlpool of sound, but
the recording is just fine otherwise.
The
extras are many here, including two fine commentary tracks (choose from Forster
and Schaefer or Berry and Thornton), IFC channels’ Anatomy of a Scene installment on the
film, an hour of behind the scenes footage, outtakes, and deleted scenes. They are all informative and
entertaining. It is also interesting to
see this, then realize how far so many of those involved have come so far. The new signature DVD offers a third commentary
track as well and is a DVD of equivalent performance in picture and sound.
All in
all, this is a fine DVD that holds up well for being the original issue, and it
offers more extras apparently. The most
important thing is the film, which is one of the best independent films since
the 1980s. If you have not seen it, what
are you waiting for?
- Nicholas Sheffo
