2003: Monster

When Charlize Theron's performance as Aileen Wurmos in Patty Jenkins' biopic about the multiple murderer is discussed, variants of the idea "daring to be ugly" are bandied about a lot. In fact, "daring to be ugly" is one of the most undaring things a good-looking actress can do, because, as the reaction to Theron's performance showed, even if you convincingly demonstrate the role is beyond your reach, soon it's going to rain accolades. Good filmmakers would get a lot out of this meaty topic even with a less than stellar cast, but writer-director Jenkins goes straight for made-for-TV aesthetics and concentrates the rest of her energy on making a political statement of the killer-as-victim variety. Having said all that, a turkey it's not. (5)