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Rating: 4 out of 5
Monster’s Ball is a dark drama about one of the finest black women on planet earth and some white dude who find comfort in each other from the pain and cards that they are dealt with in life. This film isn’t some love story but one that deals with the complexity of finding peace in a situation.
Directed by Marc Forster, with a story written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. Monster’s Ball is a powerful film of two fates seeming intertwined yet different in many ways. Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a widower, and his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger). Both are correctional officers in the local prison. They reside in Louisiana with Hank’s ailing father, Buck (Peter Boyle), one of the biggest racists in the state whose wife had committed suicide. Buck believes his wife abandoned him because she was weak. Through this hate that Buck displays, his hateful ways have seeped into Hank’s hateful attitude towards others. The result of all this is Hank’s hatred of his father, his son, and members of the neighboring community, which are primarily black. Hank and Sonny assist in the execution of convicted murderer Lawrence Musgrove (Sean “P. Diddy” Combs). The ordeal of the execution is too much for Sonny’s kind heart and nature as he vomits all over the ground when leading Lawrence to the electric chair.
During the years of Lawrence’s imprisonment, his wife, Leticia Musgrove (Halle Berry), has been struggling while raising their son, Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun). Tyrell has inherited his father’s artistic talents but is also considerably obese. Leticia’s problems mount as she struggles financially, which leads to the loss of the family car along with an eviction notice on her home. Even though Leticia loves her son, she also physically abuses him with verbal, violent assaults by calling him “fat little piggy.”
Hank and Leticia’s worlds collide when on a rainy night, Leticia and Tyrell are walking down a rain-soaked highway when the boy is struck by a car. Leticia is left helpless on the side of the road, grasping her son and calling out to passing cars. Hank stops to help, and through this one fateful night, both worlds begin to change.
The story of Monster’s Ball is quite interesting and unique if I must say. First, the concept of two people coming from two different worlds isn’t new. There are many films like that, but the way the story progresses with a bigot falling for someone outside his race is quite a story. When looking at it, you think, how could this happen? Hank said the N-word to his co-worker, which I don’t know how he didn’t get written up for that along with his daddy hating on black people. Yet, Hank and Leticia find each other through painful experiences.
That painful experience is one theme of the film. How both of the main characters seem to comfort each other through their own pain. Hank absolutely hated his son Sonny. When Sonny (spoiler alert: kills himself), Hank straight up said he hated him, and it showed when he buried him. Yet, deep down, he really cared for his boy. Leticia loved her son, and it showed when (spoiler alert: he dies from a car accident). This leads to one of the movie’s somewhat strangest sex scene. The whole “Make Me Feel Good” scene states it all.
Finally, is the story that Hank knew Leticia’s husband but, for some odd reason, keeps it from her. She doesn’t find out about their relationship until the very end when she finds the drawings he did. This sets up the question, is she ever going to confront him about it, or is she finally okay with her situation? Will he ultimately tell her anything or keep it to himself? Secrets are pretty bad.
Halle Berry!! Halle Berry!! I love me some Halle Berry, and she was absolutely GREAT in this film. A role that defined her acting skills and showed how much of an accomplished actress she is. Berry’s character as Leticia is one that MUST be applauded. Hell, Berry did win the Best Actress award at the Academy Awards for this role. Berry plays Leticia is almost two ways. First, she is a very complicated and lousy parent. She absolutely loves her son Tyrell dearly, but she does go off the deep end by drinking a little bit too much and abusing her son with violent assaults and can be heard calling him a “fat little piggy.” This is usually done because she drinks way too much. Berry builds Leticia’s character as a woman who sees herself as a loser. Her world is crumbling around her, and she is just looking for a way out along with some comfort
Billy Bob Thornton was equally compelling as Hank Grotowski. I’m going to be honest; I am not the biggest Thornton fan, but he did a pretty good job in this role. Hank is a very, very complicated character, and Thornton tries his best to show it. Hank holds all the control in his family and job but is ruled by his father. His father is a straight-up racist and abusive. Hank’s father constantly believes that everyone is weak, and it has somewhat rubbed off on Hank. I don’t know if Hank is a good person or one that is just not trying to fight against his father.
Monster’s Ball is a great film just because of HALLE BERRY! Once again, she did win the Academy Award for Best Actress. The only black woman to ever win the award. The film is truly something to watch as Berry gives her most excellent performance, along with a story that is quite passionate and dark.
