'Monster?s Ball? offers blunt, unflinching view of life, loss

"Monster's Ball"

Directed by: Marc Forster

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle

Rated: R

Please be advised, this column contains words that may be offensive (and rightly so), but I've chosen to use them as they are an important part of the story that is "Monster's Ball."

This is one very intense piece of filmmaking and is written and executed to work on many different levels. Most importantly, these levels sidestep the obvious clichs that could so easily have been followed.

Director Marc Forster and writers Milo Addica and Will Rokos present us with an unflinching view of love, loss, pain and societal mores, and do so in a manner that is unnerving, at times, for its sheer, un-sugarcoated truthfulness.

They say "the truth hurts," and "Mon-ster's Ball" will make that old adage ring absolutely true.

Ms. Berry, a fine actress who has wasted her talents for paychecks in things like "The Flintstones" and the entirely gosh-awful "Swordfish" (wherein she got a five-figure bonus for baring her breasts) has finally received a well-de-served Oscar nomination.

Writers Addica and Rokos have been nominated for "Original Screenplay" as well, but Oscar chances all around are probably mere pipe dreams.

The fact that Ms. Berry is a black woman reduces her chances of winning (it's a sad but true fact, check Oscar's history ... ask Denzel Washington). And the original screenplay category this year is so full of great stuff "Memento," "Amelie," "Gosford Park," "The Royal Tenenbaums" it bodes ill for the writers of "Monster's Ball," which is, without a doubt, one of the finest movies to be released in 2001.

Thornton plays Hank Grotowski, a Georgia correctional officer who lives with his father and his son, who also work for the state penal system. Early on, Hank's dad Buck delivers a monologue about the ills of society and how Hank's mom hated "niggers" as well. This tirade sets the tone for what is about to transpire.

Hank and his son, Sonny, are involved in the execution of Lawrence Musgrove, a black man who has been on death row and whose time has finally come. During the death walk (which is where the term "Monster's Ball" originates) Sonny shows that he may not have the gumption required for this kind of work. He and Hank then have a pretty intense confrontation.

"You've always hated me, haven't you?" Sonny asks. Hank's cold, but entirely honest, reply is, "Yes, I have." It's one of many up-front, honest and all-too-uncomfortable bits of dialogue from the film.

In a chance meeting, the kind that probably happens a lot in real life but may seem implausible in the movies, Hank and Leticia Musgrove (widow of the executed Lawrence) find their lives becoming entangled. An affair ensues, and the loss of Leticia's son strengthens the bond.

Leticia doesn't realize the connection between Hank and her late husband, and Hank's life takes a huge turn when he sends his hateful old man, Buck, to a managed care facility.

Late in the film, in a very dramatic and underplayed scene that speaks highly of the writers and director, Leticia discovers the connection between Hank and herself. It's a gut-wrenching sequence that evokes visions of very troubled times ahead.

And indeed, a typical Hollywood film would have milked this scene to overwrought melodrama, but here it plays out as it probably would in real life. As a result, it's all the more powerful for its blunt reality.

Forster's presentation of this story is so unlike current Hollywood fare and he deliberately eschews political correctness for the sake of being true to his story.

He really does an amazing job, and "Monsters Ball" is one of those films that will creep back into your mind many, many times. The story is "real" and the acting, writing and direction are second to none.

No Oscars will be forthcoming, and it's not exactly a "feel good" film, but it is one that is worth a look and also worth a nod of appreciation to all involved.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)