Making a movie about a real serial killer is no easy task. These are real people, and their victims are real people with family members. At the same time, this is not supposed to be a documentary and people want to see a movie, so cinematic elements need to be present. It is a difficult task to pull this off when the main character is such a horrific person, are we supposed to feel sympathy for them? Are they meant to be portrayed as some sort of hero? If so, that is pretty tasteless. "Monster" depicts the downward spiral of a person trying to irk out some semblance of a life. Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute turned serial killer. Although her killing spree was short-lived, she killed several people and did not feel remorseful about it. The movie shows her first killing as  self-defense scenario where she was being raped and beaten. However, from that moment on, she used the "self-defense" excuse for her other murders that were not at all in self-defense, but for self-advancement. We can feel some sympathy for her, but as the movie progresses and she goes further down the rabbit hole, she becomes a person we no longer want to see free. Her ending in the movie feels justified. Her victims were mostly men paying her for sexual favors, so not the best of people, but that does not make them worthy of death. HEr killings get more and more selfish and she becomes a monster. The love story in this movie is so full of manipulation, I found myself constantly hoping that Selby to get out of the relationship, which I think is what Writer/director Patty Jenkins wanted us to feel. Charlize Theron is phenomenal in her role. Her Oscar victory is proof of that, but the way she is able to portray the tortured mind and cruelty of her character is tantalizing to watch. This movie is one of the best movies, if not the best, about real life serial killers. It does have its flaws, it has some dragged out moments and the Selby character is portrayed as a little too naive to be compelling, but for the most part this is a good movie. Overall I give this movie a 7.5/10.