For those not familiar with Nick Broomfield, he is a British film maker who delivers a steady diet of documentary features that give insight into celebrity culture and the stories behind the headlines. If not familiar with the name perhaps you are aware of his most famous pieces 'Kurt and Courtney' and 'Biggie and Tupac'. Broomfield is a pre-cursor to Louis Theroux with a noticeable but less obvious screen presence. His fearless style and relentless pursuit of the story makes for great viewing.
Here we head back to earlier in Broomfield's career with a fascinating look at serial killer Aileen Wuornos and in particular the monetisation of her existence by the shady figures on the periphery of her life. Aileen is a tragic character in many ways, abandoned by her mother at the age of four and turning to prostitution at the age of 14. The account of her first murder, shown here through archival footage of her court testimony is a harrowing tale of rape and self defence - for which she is sentenced to the electic chair. Now it's admittedly hard to extend the use of self defence across the 8 killings she is ultimately accused of - but it does paint a far different picture than that of the crazed killer as presented in the media.
While obviously Aileen is a looming presence over the narrative here - the story focuses heavily on the manipulative forces in her pre and post conviction life, most notably key interview subjects - shonky lawyer Steve Glazer and puritanical Christian adopted mother Arlene Pralle and the presence of ex-girlfriend (and state witness) Tyria Moore who refused to participate in the production.
Commerce is the driver here with negotiation for interview fees and leverage over interview access being key elements of the 'selling' aspect the documentary explores. The 'will she or won't she' question of Aileen agreeing to an interview forms an important part of the narrative drive so I won't spoil the outcome here, but it gets to a stage that the secondary characters are so awful yet entertaining that an interview with the subject itself becomes superfluous to the needs of the film.
Broomfield's polite but persistent documentary style is imminently watchable. His ballsy approach takes him anywhere and everywhere with camera rolling. Broomfield captures an immediacy and realism that we don't see in the slickly produced, archival and re-enactment heavy docos of the modern era. Scenes such as Broomfield's entry to the The Last Resort Bar in Florida where he interacts with patrons or his interview with Aileen's former lover (and tabloid snitch) are fascinating viewing made all the more intriguing for their awkwardness and stark reality.
Broomfield followed this up with another doco 'Aileen Wuoronos: Life and Death of a Serial Killer' in 2003 and Charlize Theron famously went through a complete physical transformation to play Aileen in an Oscar winning turn in Patty Jenkins' Monster also released in the same year.
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333/1001 - 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die **
