Plot haunting and heavy in not-so-feel-good movie
Monster's Ball

Stars Halle Berry, Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger. Columbia TriStar. Rated R. 108 mins.

Reviewer :: Ben Caddaye

SOME great movies aren’t necessarily great to watch. Monster’s Ball, described by several critics as the best movie of the year, fits into that category.

Don’t get me wrong, Monster’s Ball is a fabulous work of art, boasting an outstanding cast, excellent script, wonderful direction and haunting soundtrack.

Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry, who won an Oscar for her stellar performance, are quite magnificent and are well backed up by Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle.

Marc Foster’s direction is sublime, resulting in maximum impact on the audience.

But the story is, at times, so depressing and heavy that watching it is like wading through treacle – hard work.

The story revolves around prison guard Hank Grotowski (Thornton) and the life-changing relationship he has with the wife (Berry) of a man he executed.

You’ve got to be in the right frame of mind for Monster’s Ball, as it has the potential to leave viewers quite flat.

A feel-good film it ain’t.

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