An impoverished single mother (Halle Berry) whose husband (Sean Combs) has just been put to death takes up with one of his executioners (Billy Bob Thornton), a bigoted prison guard also mourning for his son (Heath Ledger) who took his own life after botching the same execution. Monster's Ball is a drab, dreary, and dreadfully preachy film from Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, World War Z) headlined by an abstruse Thornton and a hysterical Berry (whose constant writhing left me reaching for my bottle of Excedrin bottle and scratching my head wondering just what the Academy thinking when they handed her the Best Actress trophy) and compounded by their notorious, prolonged, and almost laughable sex scene. In support, Peter Boyle as Thornton's virulently racist father rivals his Young Frankenstein portrayal for absurdist caricature and Heath Ledger is a saving grace of the picture, delivering a broodingly powerful performance and again reminding us once more what a talent was lost.
