Review – Monster’s Ball

Wow. Here’s an interesting take on racism. On the surface this appears to be the story of a white prison guard (Billy Bob Thornton) who overcomes his ingrained bigotry and general assholism after his son commits suicide and he falls in love with a black woman (Halle Berry). But on the other hand, this is also the story of a black woman who has everything taken from her and can only self-actualize by becoming dependent on the white prison guard who executed her husband. So depending on how you look at it, this is either an uplifting tale about how its never too late to change for the better or a 700-Club-esque morality lesson on how much better off women and people of color would be if they’d just trust white guys to take care of everything. Either way, the direction is over-wrought and the movie (script, acting, the whole nine yards) handles human suffering with a level of emotional depth usually reserved for the “gloom, despair and agony on me” number on Hee Haw. See if desperate