Two Diamonds: “Monster’s Ball” with Halle Berry
Perhaps it is one of the most provocative scenes of the last decade. Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton put their professionalism to the test in five minutes of love, despair and longing. Perhaps it is what has remained in the retina of many viewers (it is not for less), but Monster's Ball is much more.
It narrates the hard life of several characters who live in the American South. A family works in a prison collaborating in the execution of those sentenced to death. Halle Berry comes into contact with this family and a torrent of emotions, frustrations and fears is unleashed that has marked their lives.
Behind the cameras a young director named Marc Foster who managed to sharpen a powerful script that goes several commonplaces, but that solves the topics with brilliance. And it is that in Monster's Ball the serious problem of racism always associated, especially, with the southern states of the North American country can still be traced. And, incidentally, the always complex issue of the door penalty is addressed, still present in many areas of the United States.
Also noteworthy is the presence of Heth Ledger. The young Australian actor, only 22 years old, exhibited his skills by playing the youngest son of the family. Ledger stars in another of the most shocking scenes of the film. Unfortunately, the career of this actor would stop a few years later, after playing Joker in the second part of Christopher Nolan's Batman.
But the weight of almost the entire tape is supported by Halle Berry and Billy Bob Thornton. The latter put calm in an environment about to explode while Halle Berry found the role of her life. The Hollywood Academy would reward her with an Oscar, the first for a black actress, which Berry would receive with great emotion in one of the most remembered moments of this ceremony in recent years.
We don't know to what extent the scene that follows influenced the Oscar. Monster's Ball is not an erotic film but it does contain a high-voltage s** scene that has been debated at length ever since. Two desperate and lost people who give themselves to each other. S**, almost, as redemption.
