Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer

Plot

Nick Broomfield directed this controversial documentary about Aileen Wuornos, a Florida prostitute who confessed to killing seven men between 1989 and 1990. Though Wuornos claimed to have acted in self-defense, she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. While Wuornos was befriended by Arlene Pralle, an eccentric, born-again Christian determined to save Aileen's soul, her lawyer, Steve Glazer, was primarily concerned with whatever money could be gleaned from Wuornos' grisly notoriety. (At one point, he offered to give Broomfield an exclusive interview with Wuornos, and all her personal effects following her death, for 25,000 dollars.) Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer examines Wuornos' short, strange career as a media figure, and takes a closer look at her crimes as well as at irregularities in the police investigation of the murders. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Review

Were it not for this film, Aileen Wuornos' name, like those of most criminal celebrities, would probably have been quickly forgotten, picked up and discarded by the media as soon as interest had passed. Dwelling less on the story of Wuornos than on those drawn to it, documentarian Nick Broomfield's film captures the moments occurring after others attracted to the story had turned off their cameras. Most of these are dominated by figures whom Broomfield stops just short (most of the time at least) of presenting as low-level exploiters of tragedy, including Wuornos' born-again adoptive family and a lawyer (Stephen Glaser), who might have come off as an unbelievable stereotype in a non-documentary film. One scene -- a torturous drive to visit Wuornos in prison during which Glaser subjects Broomfield to a home-recorded album -- reveals the director's commitment to capturing the story at the expense of his own comfort. Covering awful deeds, he finds no comfort in those drawn to violence by the lure of profit. That Wuornos frequently comes off as more likable than those around her is the sort of irony that fact handles better than fiction. ~ Keith Phipps, Rovi

Cast

• Aileen Wuornos

Credit

Riete Oord - Co-producer, Nick Broomfield - Director, Rick Vick - Editor, Richard M. Lewis - Editor, David Bergeaud - Composer (Music Score), Barry Ackroyd - Cinematographer

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