Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
In this documentary, filmmaker Nick Broomfield follows the saga of Aileen Wuornos, a prostitute who has been accused of committing a brutal series of murders. Broomfield conducts interviews with Wuornos herself, and his crew films her trial as well as her interactions with religious fanatic Arlene Pralle, who gives Wuornos dubious advice and legally adopts her. The cameras also roll as the accused's attorney ignores the case at hand to negotiate a deal to sell his client's story.
Broomfield's guerrilla-style documentary exposes layers of exploitation surrounding Wuornos — her crooked lawyer, the opportunistic adoptive mother, and the media circus — giving the film a distinctively uncomfortable, accusatory energy. The subject matter is genuinely compelling and the access remarkable, but Broomfield's intrusive on-camera persona and the rough, unpolished cinematography reflect the shoestring production rather than deliberate aesthetic choice. The 'plot' (such as it is) benefits from the extraordinary real-life material, though Broomfield lets some threads dangle. As a document of systemic exploitation, it remains provocative, but it lacks the structural rigor or visual craft that would elevate it further.