Monster's Ball

Directed by Marc Forster

Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle, Heath Ledger and Sean Combs

Every year there are always a few indie movies that sneak into the mainstream theaters. And some of these films are real stinkers that critics say they like because they think that indie movies are more pure than commercial films and thus better. But some of them turn out to be really good films that actually deserve a chance at making some money. Monster’s Ball is one of the good indie films. This film presents gorgeous scenes with very harsh, but yet beautiful lighting. But the overall story is much to static for me. While everyone in this film does a good job, the story just does not have enough on it to really satisfy my movie tastes.

The best thing about this movie is clearly the cinematography. Director Marc Forster and Cinematographer Roberto Schaefer are able to create some of the most gorgeous images I have seen in quite some time. Nearly every single scene is shot with harsh greens, grays and a variety of harsh tones. The filmmakers were really able to create an environment of beauty and pain through each image in the film. Every single scene is emphasizing the real struggle that Billy Bob and Berry are dealing with. And the scene on the side of the road where Billy Bob helps out Halle Berry and her son is really one of the most beautifully shot sequences in recent film history. This scene is outside at night and so it is very dark, but it still manages to have the harsh brightness that is present in nearly every scene in the movie. If you don’t believe that film is an art, this film will change your mind, because every image is so beautifully crafted that it feels more like going to the art museum than to the cinema.

Every actor in this film delivers a very good performance. Billy Bob Thornton continues to defy all odds by managing to have a very successful acting career with the name Billy Bob. Halle Berry is also quite good, probably giving her best performance ever. Now I’m not sure I would say that the performance was truly Oscar worthy, but considering there really are not many strong female actors around these days, I can’t really argue against her winning Best Actress. She manages to stay realistic through most of the film, but she does have a few Julia Roberts-type moments (see Scorpion King review). And even the supporting performances are good, and all three of them coming from people that previously I thought were terrible performers. Peter Boyle turns out to be much better than his annoying character on CBS’ Everybody Loves Raymond, Heath Ledger proves that he can actually act and doesn’t have to do crap like A Knight’s Tale and The Patriot, and most amazingly is Sean "P-Diddy Puff Daddy" Combs who really surprised me with his solid performance. When I originally heard that in this movie he was going to be executed, I nearly rethought my opinions on the death penalty, but I really sympathized with him for the brief time he was in this film.

The thing that really keeps this film from being a truly amazing movie, is the story. The whole movie has a very static feel as very little actually happens. And while I’m not looking for Scorpion King-type action, I do feel like I need a little more story than this. After seeing the movie I decided that I would have probably felt the same about the overall movie had I watched it with the sound off. The movie to me is much like the chocolate ice cream that Billy Bob eats throughout the movie. Chocolate ice cream is very good, but if all you eat is chocolate ice cream, like Billy Bob does in this movie, it starts to become a little bland. Sometimes instead of having the same old chocolate ice cream, you would like some strawberry ice cream or maybe some Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream to mix things up a bit. And that’s what I felt like with this movie, it is very good, but it’s just too much chocolate ice cream. By the end it feels very bland because so little has happened in the story. But that shouldn’t keep you away from this movie it is still quite good and very beautiful. And chocolate ice cream is very good. Very good.

Rating: 72%