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Released by: Lionsgate
Released on: 2/18/2003
Directors: Marc Forster
Cast: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Barry, Heath Ledger, Robert Boyle, Sean Combs, Taylot Simpson, Gabrielle Witcher, Amber Rules
Year: 2001
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The Movie:
Hank Grotowski (Billy Bob Thornton) is a mean, racist bastard. He and his son, Sonny (Heath Ledger), are corrections officers working in a maximum-security prison in Florida. One of their responsibilities is to take care of the death row inmates on their last day before execution - to keep them calm, make sure that they get their last meal, etc. Sonny is a little wet behind the ears, however, as it's his first execution and his father, Hank, is riding him pretty hard to make sure there is no room for error and to be absolutely certain that things will go smoothly. Hank his been doing this for awhile, and his father before him, Buck (who lives at Hank's house under his care), was also a corrections officer, so there's a matter of family pride involved that is quickly shattered when Sonny loses it and vomits when walking an inmate named Lawrence Musgrove (played surprisingly well by Sean 'Puff Daddy/P-Diddy' Combs) to the electric chair.
Hank loses it on his son and gives him a pretty harsh beating and later, when the two are off work, Sonny shoots himself in the stomach when Hank tells him that he never loved him.
Meanwhile, Lawrence has left behind a widow named Leticia (Halle Berry, who won an Oscar for this performance) and a son named Tyrell. Not only is Leticia now a widow, but also she's probably going to lose her house as she's working a dead end job as a waitress. And to make matters worse, Tyrell has a very serious eating disorder that makes him a bit of a social outcast.
One night while driving home, Hank finds Leticia on the side of the road screaming, holding Tyrell who's just been hit by a car. Putting aside his racist tendencies and having a change of heart about his life style and political stance, Hank stops and drives them to the hospital, where Tyrell is pronounced dead. Hank drives her home, and almost by accident, the two begin to fall in love but obviously, their respective pasts are going to come back and haunt them.
Monster's Ball is not an easy film to watch. It's gritty, harsh, and emotionally draining. It's also very, very well done. The performances are all strong, and while Berry may have won the Oscar, Thornton, Boyle and Ledger are all equally good in the roles. Even Puff Daddy is pretty good here (I never thought I'd see myself writing that). The entire cast brings a sense of realism to the characters and is able to infuse in them a bit of personality that you're unlikely to find in many films, particularly those with a romantic slant to them.
The cinematography is likewise excellent here, with every shot framed in an interesting and eye catching manner that makes this drama move along at a brisk and engrossing pace. Colors, sets, and atmosphere all play equally important roles in making any good film effective, and Monster's Ball is an excellent example of just how important these key elements are.
While it's certainly not a 'feel good' movie, Monster's Ball is worthy of the accolades of critical acclaim that it received, and presented here uncut with some of the racier scenes restored, it remains a powerful and emotional film that is worthy of the special edition treatment lavished on seemingly every release these days.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The anamorphic 1.85.1 widescreen transfer looks very good, except when the film relies on the darker, nighttime scenes, at which point some ugly compression artifacts rear their heads. That issue aside, apart from the occasional spec or blemish the print used looks great. Colors are very natural looking and detail is very crisp. If it hadn't been for the compression artifacts, this would have been a wonderful job and even as it stands, it's still a very nice effort.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 track is very smooth with some nice surround effects where appropriate and a more laid back approach for the majority of the scenes, containing the primarily dialogue driving soundscape to the front channels. The music comes through crisp and clean and adds to the atmosphere very nicely, while dialogue is very easy to understand. There are little to no distortion issues and only the slightest bit of hiss in one or two scenes. Overall, this is a very nice sound mix and it complements the film very well.
First up is a commentary track with the films director Marc Forster and the writers. While there is some great information about the film contained here, it feels fake at times as the director is really the only one with anything to say and he has to keep asking the writers to chime in and get their thoughts on certain issues that arise during the discussion.
As well, there is a 25-minute 'Anatomy of a Scene' documentary, courtesy of the Sundance Channel, where they explore how the prison/electric chair scene involving Sean Combs. It's interesting to see it broken down from not only a cinematic perspective but also from the writer's point of view as well. Some of the details they talk about are obvious, such as always shooting the corrections officers from the inside of the cell, to give the viewer the impression that they're the ones confined, but others are not so obvious at first glance, and some of the information revealed here is very interesting. This was hands down my favorite of the special features on the disc.
Also included is a behind the scenes piece running roughly 18 minutes and featuring some nice interview footage with the producer of the film, Lee Daniels, interspersed with footage shot during the making of the film.
The last main extra is a cast and crew interview segment with pretty much every key member talking about his or her roles. With a running time of twenty minutes, it's interesting and worth watching once, but by the time you get through the other extras, some of the information here has been covered already.
The extra features are completed with the original theatrical trailer and a trailer for another Forster film entitled Everything Put Together and rounded out with some nice animated menus.
The Final Word:
Lions Gate has done a very nice job on the re-release of Monsters Ball and added some great extras and solid audio and video to an uncut presentation, making this upgrade worth it for fans of the film.