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Monster's Ball

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For this professional wrestling match type, see Monster's Ball match.
Not to be confused with Poké Ball, which is called "Monster Ball" in Japanese versions of Pokémon.
Monster's Ball
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMarc Forster
Written byMilo Addica
Will Rokos
Produced byLee Daniels
StarringBilly Bob Thornton
Halle Berry
Heath Ledger
Sean Combs
Mos Def
Peter Boyle
CinematographyRoberto Schaefer
Edited byMatt Chesse
Music byAsche and Spencer
Production
company
Lee Daniels Entertainment
Distributed byLions Gate Films[1]
Release dates
  • November 11, 2001 (2001-11-11) (AFI Fest)
  • December 26, 2001 (2001-12-26) (Los Angeles and New York City)
  • February 8, 2002 (2002-02-08) (United States)
Running time
111 minutes
112 minutes (Unrated)
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4 million
Box office$45 million

Monster's Ball is a 2001 American romantic drama film directed by Marc Forster, produced by Lee Daniels and written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos, who also appeared in the film. It stars Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Halle Berry, and Peter Boyle, with Sean Combs, Mos Def, and Coronji Calhoun in supporting roles.

Thornton portrays a corrections officer who begins a relationship with a woman (Berry), unaware that she is the widow of a man (Combs) he assisted in executing.[2] Principal photography began in May 2001 in New Orleans, Louisiana and lasted for five weeks.[3]

Monster's Ball premiered at AFI Fest on November 11, 2001, and was theatrically released in the United States on February 8, 2002, by Lionsgate Films. The film received positive reviews, with critical acclaim directed at Berry's, Ledger's and Thornton's performances, Forster's direction, and Addica and Rokos' screenplay. It was also a significant commercial success, grossing $45 million worldwide on a production budget of $4 million.

The film received numerous accolades and nominations, and was nominated twice at the 74th Academy Awards for Best Actress (Berry) and Original Screenplay (Addica and Rokos), with Berry winning for her performance, becoming the first African-American woman to win the award.[4][5][6]

Plot

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Hank Grotowski, a widower, and his son, Sonny, are correction officers in a Georgia[7] prison. They reside with Hank's father, Buck, an ailing, bigoted retired correction officer whose wife died by suicide. When Willie and Darryl Cooper, friends of Sonny's who are Black come by the house, Hank frightens them off with a shotgun at the behest of Buck.

Hank, the prison's deputy warden, is to oversee the execution of convicted murderer Lawrence Musgrove. Musgrove is visited by his wife Leticia and son Tyrell before his execution. While at home, overwhelmed by her husband's impending death as well as numerous personal and financial difficulties, Leticia lashes out at her son for his obesity, resorting to physical and emotional abuse. The night before the execution, Hank tells Sonny that a "monster's ball" is held by the correction officers, a get-together of those who will participate in the execution. While Musgrove waits to be taken, he draws a sketch of Sonny and Hank. The proceedings prove too much for Sonny, who, as he is leading Lawrence to the electric chair, vomits, and then collapses. Following the execution, Hank confronts Sonny in the prison's bathroom and assaults him for ruining Musgrove's last walk.

The next morning, Hank attacks Sonny in his bed and orders him to leave the house. Sonny grabs a revolver from under his pillow and holds his father at gunpoint. The confrontation ends in their living room with Sonny asking his father if he hates him. After Hank confirms that he does and always has, Sonny takes his own life by shooting himself in the chest. A shocked, ashamed, and devastated Hank buries Sonny in the back garden. He subsequently resigns as deputy warden, burns his uniform in the backyard, and locks the door of Sonny's room. He later purchases a local gas station in an attempt to provide a distraction in his retirement. The Coopers offer condolences to Hank, which he accepts.

One rainy night, Hank is driving and sees Tyrell lying on the ground by the side of the road, with Leticia calling for help. After some hesitation, Hank stops. On being told Tyrell was struck by a car, he drives them to a hospital, where Tyrell dies from his injuries. At the suggestion of the authorities at the hospital, Hank drives Leticia home. A few days later, Hank gives Leticia a ride home from the diner where she works. They begin talking in the car about their common losses, and she invites him in. Hank finds out that Leticia is Lawrence's widow, though he does not tell her that he participated in her husband's execution. They drown their grief with alcohol and have sex.[8]

Hank eventually offers to give Leticia Sonny's truck which had been fixed up by the Coopers and their father Ryrus. She finally accepts after initial discomfort. When Leticia stops by Hank's home with a present for him, she meets Buck who insults her and implies that Hank is only involved with her because he enjoys sex with black women. Leticia, offended by the remarks, refuses to interact with Hank. After Hank is made aware of Buck's actions, he finally stands up to his father and commits him to a nursing home. He then renames the gas station "Leticia's", and when asked he replies that it is his girlfriend's name.

Leticia is evicted from her home and Hank invites her to move in with him. While he is out, she discovers Lawrence's drawings of Sonny and Hank, discovering Hank's involvement in her husband's death. She is horrified at first by the revelation but, numbed by her suffering and realizing the execution was obviously legal since Lawrence likely committed murder, she stays. The film ends with the two of them eating ice cream together on the back porch as Hank states that he thinks they'll be okay.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Louisiana State Penitentiary served as a filming location.

The basis for this film came from the desire of actors-turned-writers Addica and Rokos to make a script that would interest a big star alongside themselves with Harvey Keitel in mind since he liked the latter's writing when offered one of their scripts.[3] They were inspired by their troubled relationships with their fathers as a starting point that eventually led to a generational tale about executioners, which eventually led to the inspiration for the title (an old term for the last meal of a condemned man and a "ball" that took place with his jailers the night before).[9] They wrote the script over a period of eight months in 1995, which led to some interest from a producer of a film Rokos had previously acted in.[10] Years of development occurred due to interest from filmmakers ranging from Robert De Niro to Oliver Stone along with studios that wanted a lighter ending, but the transition to Lee Daniels and Lionsgate led to interest back to the original ending.[9] The film was produced by Lionsgate and Lee Daniels Entertainment, the first production for the latter. Before Halle Berry was cast as Leticia, Angela Bassett and Vanessa Williams were first cast, but both of them declined.[11][12] Wes Bentley turned down the part of Sonny, which eventually went to Heath Ledger.[13]

Filming

[edit]

Principal photography began in May 2001 in New Orleans, Louisiana and lasted for five weeks.[3] A week before production, Sean Combs auditioned for the role of Lawrence Musgrove, and won it. At one point, the production moved to the fields, cellblocks and death houses of Louisiana State Penitentiary for a week to shoot prison interiors and exteriors, with some scenes shot in actual death chambers.[3]

Reception

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On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 85% based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 7.3/10. The site's critical consensus states, "Somber and thought provoking, Monster's Ball has great performances all around."[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 69 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[15]

Roger Ebert gave the film four stars and rated it as the best film of 2001, stating that it "has the complexity of great fiction".[16] Ebert also praised the performances of Berry and Thornton, saying, "[Thornton] and [Berry] star as Hank and Leticia, in two performances that are so powerful because they observe the specific natures of these two characters, and avoid the pitfalls of racial cliches. What a shock to find these two characters freed from the conventions of political correctness, and allowed to be who they are: weak, flawed, needful, with good hearts tested by lifetimes of compromise." Of the screenplay, Ebert wrote, "The screenplay by [Addica] and [Rokos] is subtle and observant; one is reminded of short fiction by Andre Dubus, William Trevor, Eudora Welty, Raymond Carver. It specifically does not tell "their" story, but focuses on two separate lives. The characters are given equal weight, and have individual story arcs, which do not intersect but simply, inevitably, meet."[16]

Ben Falk of BBC.com spoke highly of Berry and Thornton's performances, writing, "This is by far Berry's best-ever performance and Thornton reminds us that there are few, if any, leading men who can convey sadness and hope almost simultaneously in just one minimal glance."[17]

Accolades

[edit]
Award Category Recipient Result Ref.
Academy Awards Best Actress Halle Berry Won [18]
Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Milo Addica and Will Rokos Nominated
American Film Institute Awards Movie of the Year Nominated [19]
Actor of the Year – Female – Movies Halle Berry Nominated
American Screenwriters Association Awards Discover Screenwriting Award Milo Addica Won
Awards Circuit Community Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Halle Berry Nominated
Bambi Awards Best Film – International Won
Berlin International Film Festival Golden Bear Marc Forster Nominated [20]
Best Actress Halle Berry Won
BET Awards Best Actress Halle Berry (also for Swordfish) Won
Black Reel Awards Best Actress Halle Berry Won [21]
British Academy Film Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated [22]
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nominated [23]
Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards Best Actress Nominated
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards Best Foreign Film – English Language Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards Best Actor Billy Bob Thornton (also for Bandits and The Man Who Wasn't There) Won [24]
Golden Globe Awards Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Halle Berry Nominated [25]
Independent Spirit Awards Best Screenplay Milo Addica and Will Rokos Nominated [26]
Japan Academy Film Prize Outstanding Foreign Language Film Won
Jupiter Awards Best International Actress Halle Berry Won
London Film Critics Circle Awards Actress of the Year Nominated
MTV Movie Awards Best Female Performance Nominated [27]
National Board of Review Awards Top Ten Films 5th Place [28]
Best Actor Billy Bob Thornton (also for Bandits and The Man Who Wasn't There) Won
Best Actress Halle Berry Won
Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Actress Nominated [29]
Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards Best Actress in a Leading Role Won
Best Screenplay – Original Milo Addica and Will Rokos Nominated
Robert Awards Best American Film Marc Forster Nominated
Satellite Awards Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama Billy Bob Thornton Nominated [30]
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Halle Berry Nominated
Best Screenplay – Original Milo Addica and Will Rokos Won
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role Halle Berry Won [31]
Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards Best Picture 10th Place [32]
Best Actress Halle Berry Nominated
Turkish Film Critics Association Awards Best Foreign Film 16th Place
Writers Guild of America Awards Best Screenplay – Written Directly for the Screen Milo Addica and Will Rokos Nominated [33]

References

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  1. ^ "Theaters Have A Monster's Ball". hive4media.com. April 2, 2002. Archived from the original on April 17, 2002. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
  2. ^ Brooks, Libby (June 3, 2002). "'Now I'm really at the party'". The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b c d "Monster's Ball : Production Notes". www.cinema.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  4. ^ "#OscarsSoWhite and The Legacy of Halle Berry | 8Hours". www.8hours.com. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  5. ^ Barbour, Shannon (2020-09-09). "Halle Berry's Oscar Win Was One of Her "Biggest Heartbreaks"". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  6. ^ "Halle Berry Recalls Historic Oscars Win For 'Monster's Ball'". BET.com. September 9, 2020. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  7. ^ Scott, A. O. (26 December 2001). "FILM REVIEW; Courtesy and Decency Play Sneaky With a Tough Guy". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Bonner, Mehera (September 4, 2019). "15 Movies That Broke the Mold and Featured Anal Sex Scenes". Marie Claire. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "FROM SCRIPT TO SCREEN: 'Monster's Ball' - Script Magazine". scriptmag.com. December 1, 2015. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  10. ^ "A Death Row Tale Finally Gets a Reprieve". Los Angeles Times. 2001-08-12. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  11. ^ "The Oscar-Winning Role Vanessa Williams Passed on". HuffPost. 21 July 2014.
  12. ^ "Angela's Fire". Newsweek. 30 June 2002.
  13. ^ "Wes Bentley Remembers Ledger as a 'Vibrant Man'". People. January 29, 2008.
  14. ^ "Monster's Ball (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  15. ^ "Monster's Ball". Metacritic. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (February 1, 2002). "Monster's Ball movie review & film summary (2002)". rogerebert.com. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  17. ^ Falk, Ben. "BBC - Films - review - Monster's Ball". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  18. ^ "The 74th Academy Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. AMPAS. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  19. ^ "AFI AWARDS 2001". American Film Institute. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
  20. ^ "PRIZES & HONOURS 2002". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Black Reel Awards Past Winners". Black Reel Awards. 21 February 2016. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  22. ^ "BAFTA Awards: Film in 2003". BAFTA. 2003. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  23. ^ "1988-2013 Award Winner Archives". Chicago Film Critics Association. January 2013. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "2001 FFCC AWARD WINNERS". Florida Film Critics Circle. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  25. ^ "Monster's Ball – Golden Globes". HFPA. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  26. ^ "36 Years of Nominees and Winners" (PDF). Independent Spirit Awards. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  27. ^ "Pop stars claim victories at MTV Movie Awards". CNN. Associated Press. June 2, 2002. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  28. ^ "2001 Award Winners". National Board of Review. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  29. ^ "6th Annual Film Awards (2001)". Online Film & Television Association. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  30. ^ "2002 Satellite Awards". Satellite Awards. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  31. ^ "The 8th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Archived from the original on November 1, 2011. Retrieved May 21, 2016.
  32. ^ "2001 SEFA Awards". sefca.net. Retrieved May 15, 2021.
  33. ^ "Writers Guild Awards Winners". WGA. 2010. Archived from the original on May 25, 2012. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
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