Monsters Ball

With Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton - other than the sex scene, I'm not sure what people liked about this movie. It wasn't particularly deep, and the death row thing with Puffy Combs was really the only dramatic thing about it. Halle does a good acting job and looked good as usual, but I'm not sure what the critics were thinking. Of course, I never am sure about them. They never get much right in my book.

 

Liked the movie myself. I liked how subtle it was. You were never sure what was going to happen. Like the final scene, no one lets on what she is going to do. And with BRT’s character, on the surface he seemed the same, but he was a different person at the end.

 

I thought the movie was really good. His son really surprised me with what he did. I won't give it away though.

 

"The only thing I wanna hear is dirt hitting that box."

 

I have sort of mixed feelings about Monster's Ball. Though I thought there were some powerful performances and the story was interesting and touching in some places, I couldn't recommend this film to family or friends.

Though I'm glad that Halle Berry took home the Oscar, I wish it had not been for this particular role. I agree with Angela Bassett. Bassett Bashes Monster's Ball

 

So should I rent the DVD?

 

Re: Re: Monsters Ball

See, I don't quite get the "prostitute" thing. I didn't get that at all.

It was a 3D character. With flaws and strengths. And it was obvious that BBT’s character felt strongly about her, wanted to take care of her.

As far as the sex scenes go, they were explicit, but that just made it more real. She was hurting and lonely, and turned to someone who was there. I’ve done that.

I can’t criticize any of the character’s major decisions in the film. I would have done the same. So I have to say I think Angela is being a snob.

 

Re: Re: Re: Monsters Ball

I don't expect you to get it because you aren't a black female. I'm not slamming you. I'm just saying - and this opinion is shared alot among a lot of black females I've spoken with about this film and Halle Berry - "Monster's Ball" perpetuates negative stereotypes about black women and sex. The fact that Berry's character is in turmoil and everything is suddenly all right when she is "rescued" by or "involved" with a white man who then "takes care of her."

And the "prostitute" comment I think can be attributed to the last several movies Berry has made in which she is always the sexual object of a white man (Monster's Ball, Swordfish, Rich Man's Wife, Bullworth) Hopefully, this will not be the case in the new James Bond flick. I've been a long-time fan of Halle's, so that's why I'd like to see her grow out of this same ole sex stuff rut in her movies. It's getting tiresome. She's too talented an actress.

And as far as Angela Bassett being a snob, she wasn't the only one who felt strongly against Monster's Ball. I hear that Vanessa Williams and others also turned down the role. It's not about being a snob, it's about black women who want to be treated with dignity as actresses in Hollywood and not forced to act in negative, stereotypical roles in movies in order to receive critical acclaim and attention.

 

It will most likely be the same in the JB flick. Or he will at least try. I mean, its Bond.


As far as it being a negative stereotype, this is where I disagree. I, as a white heterosexual male, in a similar situation, can’t fault the decision and would probably make similar choices. If it was a white woman in the same position, I could not fault her. If it was Fred, couldn’t fault him. I just don’t see turning to someone who is just there negative, in fact, it happens all the time.

I myself have turned to a willing woman when I was single when I was depressed. I don’t view that as negative. And I don’t think it made her situation better, or that she thought it did, it was more of a temporary distraction. It was BBT character that pursued her, after that, and she was more than willing to leave him at one point in the movie. But he cared enough to continue the pursuit. Now, guilt was another motivation for him, but she didn’t know that. And it is also not as if she saw nothing but a solution to her problem. When you have financial problems, buying him gifts in return was a sign that she felt similarly. I think that’s why they put the real prostitute in the movie, to show a comparison to how the real thing acts. Halle had an emotional involvement.

Take race out of it for a moment, and put yourself in her shoes. In a moment of weakness, and most of us have been there, you sleep with a stranger. That stranger pursues you later, and seems to have genuine strong feelings for you. He wants to help you. Do you take his help? IMO, if you care back, you can. And I think that was the crux of the movie. She had to ask herself if she cared back.

Also, I’ve never heard of that stereotype before. Taboo, sensationalistic, yes, but stereotype? That all black women want to bed white men is a new one on me.

 

Interesting post, Piper. The point I was trying to make about HB's character is that she doesn't make it on her own. Though I can see your point about HB "caring for BBT back," the main issue is about the lack of "self reliance" and relying on a man, whether black or white, to make things better. This is a serious issue among black women.

Also, what bothers a lot of black women about this whole thing is that the HB character in this movie is not one we can be proud of. I could be proud of HB in "Queen" and even "Losing Isiah." Look at her "Monster's Ball" character more closely. She can't keep a job, she's raising a problem child, her husband is a death row inmate, she's an alcoholic. She's just plain pathetic. So what happens? She has something in common with the stranger she meets and sleeps with him, and life is so much sweeter. So what? When Julia Roberts won an Oscar for "Erin Brokovich" she too played a character that had it bad, but Roberts' character had the stamina and guts to stand up to people and was even a heroine so to speak.