MONSTER'S BALL
Starring:
Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle, Sean Coombs and Heath Ledger
Director: Marc Foster
Running Time: 111 mins
Certificate: 15
Out to buy on DVD 24th February
Hank Grotowski (Thornton) was a death row prison officer, as his father Buck (Boyle) was before him. Now a third generation was joining the fold and this was Sonny's (Ledger) first execution. Leticia Musgrove (Berry) had been taking her son Tyrone to see his father Lawrence (Coombs) for eleven years but now that fated day had arrived. Little did both families know that the death of Musgrove would change their lives completely.
This is the movie that Halle Berry so emotionally won her Oscar for. While her and Billy Bob Thornton's performances are first rate, this is an extremely dark and depressing piece of cinema that is both over long and not very engaging.
Personal tragedy follows personal tragedy as you are bombarded with emotional content from start to finish. The movie never lets up with the emotional baggage the characters are asked to carry. Now you wouldn't mind this too much if the situation demanded it but you just end up thinking how much more bad luck can these two families have.
The cast is very good however and while we all know that Billy Bob Thornton is a very good dramatic actor, this film is a real change of direction for Halle Berry. How the movie made an extremely beautiful woman look so plain and downtrodden is a triumph for both the actress and director Marc Foster.
The main problem with the film is that it isn't attention grabbing enough. The dialogue in some scenes is so uneventful, mainly the exchanges between Thornton and Boyle, you feel like telling them to get on with it. Ok, the characters are not supposed to be the most intelligent of individuals but most people can string together more constructive sentences than these folks can.
With a very high emotional content and a very depressing but thankfully upbeat ending the movie is more of a chore to watch than it is enjoyable. Thornton and Berry make the film watchable but don't expect to feel uplifted at the end of it.
Audio commentary, 'Anatomy Of A Scene' featurette, Previously unseen footage, Interactive menu & Scene access
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