Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations
- Self - Her Father was Killed by Wuornos
- (archive footage)
- Self - Victim's Sister
- (archive footage)
- (as Leitha Prater)
- Self - Victim's Widow
- (archive footage)
- Self - Wuornos' Adoptive Mother
- (archive footage)
- Self - Wuornos' Former Lover
- (archive footage)
- Self
- (archive footage)
- (as Judge Muriel Blount)
- Self - Governor of Florida
- (archive footage)
- Self - Wuornos' Former Friend
- (archive footage)
- Self - Wuornos' Former Friend
- (archive footage)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIncluded among the "1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die", edited by Steven Schneider.
- Quotes
Aileen Wuornos: You sabotaged my ass, society. And the cops, and the system... a raped woman got executed. It was used for books and movies and shit. You're an inhumane bunch of fuckin' livin' bastards and bitches and you're gonna get your asses nuked in the end, and pretty soon it's comin'! 2019 a rock's supposed to hit you anyhow, you're all gonna get nuked. You don't take fuckin' human life like this and just sabotage it and rip it apart like Jesus on the cross, and say thanks a lot for all the fuckin' money I made off of ya. And not care about a human being, and the truth being told. Now I know what Jesus was going through.
- ConnectionsEdited into Monstras: Pánico (2020)
- SoundtracksYour Wildest Dreams
Performed by The Moody Blues
Written by Justin Hayward
Courtesy of The Decca Music Group Ltd.
Licensed by kind permission of Nightswood BV/Sherlock Holmes Music
Like many of you, I'm assuming, I became interested in the story of Aileen Wurnos after seeing the powerful film "Monster" with Charlize Theron (who, by the way, did an EXCELLENT job in that film. After you see this, you'll agree she totally nailed the part of the real Aileen we see here).
From the opening lines, we realize that the director Nick Broomfield is biased in favour of Aileen, so if that's hard for you to swallow you might want to skip this documentary. But whether or not you think Aileen deserved to be executed, this is a great doc because it asks questions that we all should consider about the legal system, society's callousness and ultimately the death penalty.
From the Rolling Stones song: "I shouted out, who killed the Kennedys? When after all, It was you and me."
Similarly, this film asks the question, who killed the 7 victims? The answer, Nick Bloomfield implies, is "you and me" (human society). There is no Devil, and Aileen Wurnos isn't some supernatural spawn of Satan. She was a mentally damaged person who slipped through the cracks of society and in turn destroyed a lot of lives. Society, or rather the justice system, labeled her an abomination and exacted its revenge, washed its hands of her, and all the while made a pretty profit.
What's masterful about this documentary is, even though it is very sympathetic toward Aileen in her plight, it never attempts to excuse her for her crimes. In fact it shows some very chilling outbursts of hers where we realize exactly how explosive & mentally damaged she was. This is truly a documentary for people who can process the truth in conflicting packets, not for people who see things as black & white.
Other great films/documentaries that tackle controversial topics and force us to see the complexities beneath them include: "You Don't Know Jack" (2010) about Dr. Jack Kevorkian's suicide machine, "A Short Film About Killing" (1988) which is part of Kieslowsky's powerful "Decalogue" series, and an excellent doc called "The Bridge" (2006) that shows real footage of several troubled souls leaping to their deaths off the Golden Gate Bridge and analyzes what made them do it.
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Aileen: Bir Seri Katilin Yaşamı ve Ölümü
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $97,362
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $16,158
- Jan 11, 2004
- Gross worldwide
- $97,362
- Runtime1 hour 33 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1