"Monster's Ball" is a real downer of a movie. I like to think of myself as a positive, happy guy, but watching it, I was feeling depressed. Halfway through the movie, I realized that there are no truly likable characters it, no one to really sympathize with. Not even in a twisted way, like how an audience can be fascinated by the bad guy (look at "Hannibal Lecter" in "The Silence of the Lambs"). In this movie, just about everyone is dreary and miserable, and for the most part, they deserve to be. But that doesn't mean that it's no good. Not every movie can keep you smiling beginning to end, and you can't fault a movie for not being a pleasant experience to watch. Can you imagine a cheerful "Schindler's List"? Of course not. "Monster's Ball" isn't near the level of "Schindler's List," but it's a very good movie, one that I recommend highly. I just think that some people who see it may have to up their dosage of Prozac.
Living in Miami, you share communities with all kinds of people. Black, Jewish, Haitian, different kinds of Hispanics (and they all hate each other, for some reason... the only Hispanic people Puerto Ricans like are Puerto Ricans, the only Hispanic people Cubans like are Cubans, and so on and so forth)... and I'm comfortable around all of them. The only kinds of people I'm not comfortable with are the ones who don't really exist in Miami, the deep south redneck white people. They scare me. I remember years ago that there was gonna be some rally for the Ku Klux Klan in Downtown Miami, but I'm proud to say, it didn't happen. The minorities in Miami (who, I'll admit, don't get along) came together to protest, and when the Klan saw how many protesters there were, the canceled the rally. We're an impossibly dysfunctional family. Yeah, the Black people and the Cuban people may be at each other's throats half the time, but dammit, they would have no trouble setting differences aside and uniting to ensure that rednecks wouldn't come to our city preaching their hate.
There was a point to that paragraph, but along the way, I forgot what it was. Well, I guess I was just trying to say that racism sucks, and the Ku Klux Klan isn't welcome in Miami. So if you're in the KKK, and you're reading this, don't ever come to Miami!
There. I'm sure that did the trick.
"Monster's Ball" has some great acting in it. REALLY great acting. Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry are incredible, probably the best I've ever seen them. Billy Bob Thornton has always been great, but Halle Berry has been hit and miss. I respected her early on when rather than taking advantage of her stunning good looks, she completely uglified herself for her first role in a major film when she played the crack addict girlfriend to crack addict Samuel L. Jackson in Spike Lee's great film, "Jungle Fever." Since then, she's had big highs and big lows, but her performance in this film may be the biggest high of her career. Good for her. And David Justice is an asshole. Also in the movie is Peter Boyle (as Billy Bob Thornton's father... he's in "Everybody Loves Raymond" as Raymond's father), Heath Ledger (as Billy Bob Thornton's son... he was the male lead in "10 Things I Hate About You," and starred opposite Mel Gibson in "The Patriot"... he starred in"A Knight's Tale"). They're both very good, though I can't see Heath Ledger as a very convincing redneck. There's also Sean "Puff Daddy"/"P. Diddy" Combs (he was pretty good in "Made"), and he's good in the movie. There's another actor/rapper, but he's been acting since 1988. I knew of him as an actor before he even had his first CD out. His name is Dante Beze, but as a rapper, he's known as Mos Def. I actually have a lotta respect for the guy. He's not a gangster rapper, he's more in the mellow style of De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest. As an actor, he's been in "NYPD Blue" and "Spin City," but he may be best known for his VISA commercial with Deion Sanders. That's where I first saw him, and again, this was long before he had his first rap CD out. Anyway, he's very good in the movie, though his role is small. It's very different from the kinda role you usually see a rapper play in a movie. Usually, a rapper is a cop, a criminal, or a boy in the hood. In this movie, he's a protective father and an auto mechanic.
There's one more actor of note in the movie, and this person is probably the most unforgettable to me. His name is Coronji Calhoun, and he plays Halle Berry's overweight son. I was mesmerized by this little kid. Earlier I wrote that there was no one to sympathize with, but I take that back. There are a couple, and the son of Halle Berry's character is definitely one. Coronji Calhoun plays him in a way where you can't help but to feel sorry for the kid. He doesn't have a lotta dialogue, but he doesn't need to. The kid says more with his face than words ever could. This is his debut film, and I don't know if we'll see more of him, but I hope so.
Oh, I should mention the sex scene. There's a sex scene in the movie that may be considered controversial. I dunno, it was interesting, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's not the kind of sex scene you usually see in a movie, maybe that's why people are freaking out. Whatever. I don't see the big deal.
Halle Berry is ridiculously hot, isn't she?
"Monster's Ball" was directed by Marc Forster (a young Swiss director I've never heard of) and written by Milo Addica & Will Rokos (debut for both). I've never heard of any of them prior to this movie, but they all did a great job. My only complaint is that the movie is too slow at times, but that's a common complaint, isn't it?
I like "Monster's Ball," even though it's depressing. It's slow, and the ending is a little vague, but there's a lot in this movie to like. If things are going to well for you, you're way too happy, and you're skipping along on cloud nine, here's a movie that will bring you back to earth.
Scale of 1-10: 8