The Flipcritic

Many dramas give you too much information at the sacrifice of a story's realism. They tell you (most of the time through dialogue) what their characters are feeling and what they feel is important. In doing so, they "tell" you what you should think and what their stories are all about. But the best dramas don't have to spell it out. They simply play out their events and let the power of their moments speak out for themselves. MONSTER'S BALL is one of those movies. Like IN THE BEDROOM, it allows its characters' actions speak louder then their words.

This story's foundation is based upon two characters whose lives are slowly and painfully deteriorating before them. One of them is Hank (Billy Bob Thornton of THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE), a prison guard who oversees the execution of death row inmates. He lives his with father Buck (Peter Boyle of the TV Series EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND) who also had the same job, and his son Sonny (Heath Ledger of A KNIGHT'S TALE) who is working under him. His family has a sickness of hate and racism that slowly eats away at their lives, which Sonny wants to opt out of after Hank mercilessly berates him after mishandling the final walk of a condemned man (Sean Combs). When they finally confront each other, Hank reveals that he has always despised Sonny, which leads to a jarring death.

The other character is Leticia (Halle Berry of the HBO movie INTRODUCING DOROTHY DANDRIDGE), the wife of the condemned man, who has been beaten down by hard times. She loves her son but loathes his obesity and punishes him for it. Her son is about to lose his father, her car is on the verge of mechanical failure, her home will be taken from her if she can't make the payments. She is so poor that she has to steal an umbrella so that she can make her way home through the rain. And just when you think things couldn't get any worse for her, it will. By the time these two characters meet, she will have lost virtually everything.

This story contains enough subjects to fill several other movies. It has moments about hate, poverty, interracial relationships, loss, and redemption. But it really centers on one thing... need. It blossoms as soon as the lives of these two character's meet. Both are hardened people and bad parents, both have experienced tremendous loss, both their lives are disintegrating, and through a chance encounter, they connect. And through that connection, they find escape from their misery. I was so thankful that their experiences weren't trivialized. Other films would take advantage of their connection through Leticia's condemned husband to setup a confrontation. But this film is too mature to do so. Some would make them fall in love, but this movie isn't about love. How could they be in love? They hardly know each other.

The film has two moods. One is slow and agonizing pain. We get to know the seeming worthlessness of the two central characters. The condition of Hank's family is so sad that he and Sonny are involved with the same prostitute. His father is cold and cruel, and it becomes obvious that Hank's attitudes have been shaped by him. His son is a man longing for love not of the romantic kind, but one of acceptance and respect. He doesn't share the values of his predecessors. And he breaks away from this sadness the only way he knows how. Leticia's condition is even more desperate. She barely makes ends meet. She struggles to keep her job. She is a bad mother, but her way is the only way she knows how.

The movie's second tone is desperation. We see how Hank and Leticia cling to each other with urgency. Their relationship is almost symbiotic. What other options do they have? They are bipolar, having nowhere else to go but to each other. And it is through their union that they both realize how meaningful they both have become. This becomes especially true with Hank, who goes through a slow awakening. He doesn't reject his racist beliefs, they molt off him. Why? Because it has become irrelevant. The color of skin has never lost its importance to a man of hate more than it has in this film.

A lot has been made about the sex scenes between Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. And I have to admit, they are some of the rawest, and most intense sequences I have ever seen. But believe me when I say that they are necessary. When arriving at it, consider the tragedy that has befallen the two leads. This movie doesn't just make them meet one night and then immediately jump in the sack. The moments leading up to their physical joining are some of the movie's most moving. It is before the sex where Hank reveals their commonality, and where Leticia releases her despair. Hank actually never thinks of sleeping with Leticia, but their memories and pain are too great, especially for Leticia. After they have sex, when they both say, "I need you..." I believe them completely.

But the movie's best scenes are its last. Some viewers who want endings to be happy or to be obvious will probably get frustrated, but I thought they were the most thought-provoking. When Leticia finds out what we've all known, what is she thinking? Is she angry? Is she afraid? Has she realized that Hank really has good intentions? Will they stay together? The ending is entirely up to our interpretation. If the movie explained itself, it would be limit itself. Yet like the infinite night sky they stare into, their futures seem boundless with opportunity.

The movie is filled with worthwhile performances. Heath Ledger shows that he's more than just a pretty boy, playing a son who as much need as his father. Sean Combs plays his role just right as a condemned man. His character Lawrence is a man who is afraid of death but has come to terms with it. He makes no excuses for his crimes and shows remarkable care for his son as he tells him, "You're nothing like me." Peter Boyle, the large man with the sad eyes always gives notable eccentric performances. And his character Buck is no exception as an unloving father. When Sonny gets out of the family disease, he notes "He was weak."

Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton have given the two best performances I have seen all year. Ms. Berry is not just an actress crying at painful moments. She truly reflects agony and defeat under her tough exterior. She plays a survivor who doesn't have all the tools at her disposal, and proves that she is far from being just a pretty face. Mr. Thornton is undeniably poignant. Other actors would have played a man full of rage. But he plays Hank with a sense of weariness and incapability of emotional release. When we see Hank, we know a lot is bottled up in him, and he doesn't know how to let it out or who to share it with. With Leticia, he finally has his relief, not just because she is there, but because they have a common bond. How the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences could pass him up for a nomination is inexplicable.

I have heard from some people that they found this movie boring, which made me angry. Why is it boring? This is a drama, and drama requires an emotional investment from its audience. It requires empathy. For those who did find it boring, ask yourselves this question. Did you simply watch what was happening or did you try and understand what the characters were going through? Like IN THE BEDROOM, MONSTER'S BALL is not a telling of a story, it is a witness to an event. It's a look at a man and woman's salvation from desolation through each other. And it's shown as true as one can show it. Like Lawrence says, "It takes a human being to truly see another human being." This is one of the year's best films.

Posted by FLIPCRITIC at June 24, 2002 12:00 AM