Monster's Ball

Monster's Ball
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Marc Forster
Produced by	Lee Daniels
Written by	Milo Addica Will Rokos
Starring	Billy Bob Thornton Halle Berry Heath Ledger Peter Boyle Sean Combs
Music by	Asche and Spencer
Cinematography	Roberto Schaefer
Editing by	Matt Chesse
Studio	Lee Daniels Entertainment
Distributed by	Lionsgate
Release date(s)	November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11) (AFI Fest) February 8, 2002 (2002-02-08)
Running time	111 minutes 112 minutes (Unrated)
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$4 million
Box office	$44,909,486

Monster's Ball is a 2001 American romantic drama film directed by Marc Forster and written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. The film stars Billy Bob Thornton as a racist prison-guard, Halle Berry as a woman whose husband is on death row, and Heath Ledger as Thornton's son. Berry won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

Plot

Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton), a widower, and his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger), are corrections officers in the local prison. They reside in Louisiana with Hank's ailing father, Buck (Peter Boyle), an unwavering racist whose wife committed suicide. Hank's hateful attitude toward others, strongly influenced by his father, extends to his son, and members of the neighboring community.

As Hank and Sonny assist in the execution of convicted murderer Lawrence Musgrove (Sean Combs), the proceedings prove too intense for Sonny, who collapses and then begins to vomit as he is leading Lawrence to the electric chair. Hank beats up Sonny in the jail's bathroom afterwards. Some time later, Hank drags Sonny out of bed and tells him to get out of the house. Unable to cope with the estrangement, Sonny grabs a gun. The confrontation ends in their living room with Hank at gunpoint, lying on the carpet, and Sonny in Buck's customary chair. Sonny asks his father, "You hate me, don't you?" After his father calmly confirms that he does and always has, Sonny responds, "Well, I always loved you," and then shoots himself in the heart. Hank subsequently buries Sonny in the back garden, quits his job at the prison, burns his uniform in the backyard, and locks the door of Sonny's room up tightly. Buck calls him a quitter.

During the years of Lawrence's imprisonment, his wife, Leticia (Halle Berry), has been struggling while raising their son, Tyrell (Coronji Calhoun), who has inherited his father's artistic talent, but is also morbidly obese. Along with her domestic problems, Leticia struggles financially, leading to the loss of the family car and, worse, an eviction notice on her house. In desperate need of money, Leticia takes a job at a diner frequented by Hank. One rainy night, Leticia and Tyrell are walking down a soaked highway when Tyrell is struck by a car. Leticia is left helpless on the side of the road, grasping her son and calling out to passing motorists, all of whom drive past. Hank happens to be driving along and sees Leticia cradling her mortally injured son. He initially drives past, like the cars before him, but then turns around, picks Leticia and Tyrell up, and takes them to a hospital, but Tyrell dies upon arrival and Hank lends his shoulder for Leticia to cry on. At the suggestion of the authorities at the hospital, he drives her home. A few days later, Hank gives Leticia a ride home from the diner and after they begin talking in the car and discover the common loss of their sons, she invites him in and they drown their grief with alcohol. They begin a relationship initially based on sex and relief from loneliness but which later becomes emotionally supportive. Hank finds out that Leticia is Lawrence's widow, but he does not tell her that he participated in her husband's execution.

Leticia stops by Hank's home with a present for him. Hank is not home, but Buck is. Buck insults Leticia using raw racist language and implying that Hank is only involved with her because he wants to have sex with a black woman; she responds by rejecting Hank. This incident proves to be the last straw for Hank and he decides to send his father to a nursing home; it is implied that Hank will cut him out of his life as well. Leticia is evicted from her home for non-payment of rent and Hank invites her to move in with him. She agrees and later discovers Hank's involvement in her husband's death while he is gone but is there waiting for him when he returns from town with ice cream. The film ends with them eating ice cream together on the front porch.

Cast

• Billy Bob Thornton as Hank Grotowski
• Halle Berry as Leticia Musgrove
• Heath Ledger as Sonny Grotowski
• Peter Boyle as Buck Grotowski
• Sean Combs as Lawrence Musgrove
• Mos Def as Ryrus Cooper
• Coronji Calhoun as Tyrell Musgrove
• Charles Cowan, Jr. as Willie Cooper

Development

The film was produced by Lionsgate and Lee Daniels Entertainment. The title comes from a custom in medieval England of referring to prisoners awaiting execution as "monsters". The night before their execution, their jailers would hold a farewell feast known as a "monster's ball."

Louisiana State Penitentiary served as a filming location.

The prison scenes in Monster's Ball were filmed in Louisiana State Penitentiary in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.

Angela Bassett was originally scripted to play Leticia but later turned down the lead role because of the script's sexual content.

Reception

The film received mostly positive reviews. Review website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 120 of the 141 reviews they tallied were positive. This resulted in a score of 85% and a certification of "Fresh".^[1]

Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and stated that, "The movie has the complexity of great fiction"^[2] listing it as the best film of 2001.

Reviewers also lauded the performance of Coronji Calhoun, who was chosen from an open casting call for the role of Tyrell Musgrove, the ill-fated son of Lawrence and Leticia. "Perhaps one of the most affecting performances of the year was given by a 10-year-old Louisiana fourth-grader who has never acted before or studied the craft," commented Variety reporter Christopher Grove.

Despite the critical acclaim, some activists urged a boycott because of extreme racist ideologies that portray African-American males as criminal or inept and black women as needing a white savior. This was highlighted by the fact that other actresses refused the role based on its plot and sexually explicit scenes.^{[citation needed]} Halle Berry's Oscar win, the first for a black actress in a leading role, angered many African Americans who thought she should have received the prestigious award instead for her performance in "Losing Isaiah". Film critic Esther Iverem of SeeingBlack.com wrote, "Ultimately, Monster's Ball uses the legacy of racism in an unconvincing manner to belittle its impact, and its historical and present-day consequences." ^[3]

Accolades

• Academy Awards
  • Best Actress: Halle Berry (Winner)
  • Best Original Screenplay: Milo Addica & Will Rokos (Nominated)

• BAFTA Awards
  • Best Actress: Halle Berry (Nominated)

• Black Reel Awards
  • Best Actress: Halle Berry (Winner)

• Golden Globes
  • Best Actress in a Drama: Halle Berry (Nominated)

• MTV Movie Awards
  • Best Female Performance: Halle Berry (Nominated)

• National Board of Review
  • Best Actor: Billy Bob Thornton (Winner)
  • Best Actress: Halle Berry (Winner)

• Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role: Halle Berry (Winner)

References

External links

Film portal

• Monster's Ball at the Internet Movie Database
• Monster's Ball at AllRovi
• Monster's Ball at Rotten Tomatoes
• Monster's Ball at Box Office Mojo