In association with

Monster's Ball [2002]
from Entertainment in Video
starring Halle Berry|Billy Bob Thornton|Heath Ledger|Sean Combs
directed by Marc Forster

Features:

• Anamorphic
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

A harrowing portrayal of Deep South life in the 21st century, Monster's Ball hits you where it hurts most, in the complex realm of extreme human emotions. This is not a movie to pass the time on a Sunday afternoon. With intriguing juxtapositions and some of the best editing of recent times it has all the makings of a modern film noir, yet it's not only the men that end up on the wrong side of the track: pride and ill-fortune are the real femme fatales here.

Billy Bob Thornton is a death row officer whose redneck father has taught him that emotions make you weak, leading to an inability to love his son (Heath Ledger) and feel any compassion for the convicts in his care. When he loses a "loved one", he embarks on a relationship with the widow (Halle Berry) of a man whom he strapped in the electric chair, and the two of them search for comfort in sex, alcohol and chocolate ice-cream. The movie features fine turns from all actors involved, with Berry deservedly winning an Oscar for best actress and Ledger proving he is more than eye candy. Far from concluding the suffering, the ending leaves the viewer in an emotional void in which you will find yourself analysing your own shortcomings, prejudices and emotional ties. --Nikki Disney

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

• Its ok
  Presents a case against execution and humanises the effects of a murderer's execution on his family. Follows the stories of how one man's death affected those arround him.
  Its a bit over hyped to be honest, but its overall pretty good.
  4/5
  Keith

• well intentioned but stereotyped
  This is, on the whole, a well acted, good intentioned and uplifting film. However, it some ways it is just another stereotypical Hollywood style love story of which we have seen so many. Halle Berry's character is hapless, poor and a victim of circumstances whilst Billy Bob's character is rich, in control of putting his father in a home and was actually the cause of the death of his son - it all seems a bit too male = active whilst female = passive in a very stereotypical Hollywood fashion. The fact that... more info

• Monster's Ball
  "The Monster's Ball" begins with one of the finest opening sequences I have ever seen and really sets the tone for an intelligent, well acted and credible film. The tension and lead up to the main event in the first half of the film is superbly developed and really draws the viewer into plot.

  Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) is a prison guard at the local prison, this is like his father before him and his own son, Sonny (Heath Ledger) is following in his footsteps. Hank is in charge of the execution... more info

• Beautiful... and Brilliant
  Billy Bob Thornton is brilliant. Halle Berry is brilliant, heck Peter Boyle is brilliant, the whole film is brilliant
  It is a soft heart-warming story of two people being brought together even though Billy Bob Thornton is Hank Grotowski, the man who executed her husband on death row, even though he has a racist father who constantly reinforces his views about how to be a man, even though his son took his own life through a sheer mental breakdown, he manages to find a little salvation in his new... more info

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