Leticia and Hank come together in their grief, and when they do - when, in particular, they seek some kind of punishment and absolution in sex - it makes for one of the most intense, moving and real moments you're ever likely to witness on film.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 12, 2018

This brutal movie is for adults only.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 26, 2010

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Oct 15, 2009

Forster's poised direction, as well as powerful turns from Billy Bob Thornton and the Oscar-winning Halle Berry, make this compelling viewing.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 2, 2003

It's not a polemic on the death penalty, race relations or family dynamics. It's a character study that really sticks with you.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Nov 6, 2002

A serious movie made by seriously talented people, and I never quite came 'round to it.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jul 20, 2002

A textbook example of fearless filmmaking, exhibiting a brand of gritty realism that's hard to watch but impossible to ignore.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 4, 2002

Intimate, gruelling, and in some strange way, uplifting.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 17, 2002

[Forster] tells his story with directness and simplicity and without the high hallmarks of the soaps' gooey emotional lubrication.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 16, 2002

The kind of quiet, effective film that burrows under the viewer's skin and takes root before you've had a chance to realize that it's permeated your constitutional makeup.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Feb 10, 2002

Though the film can initially seem off-putting, Monster's Ball slowly and quietly gets under your skin.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 8, 2002

The script has a schematic feel and the emblematic character types typical of the work of young writers, particularly those who have something to say and aren't just trying to make a buck.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Feb 8, 2002

Disturbing, provocative and, finally, tentatively encouraging, Monster's Ball brings subtlety and quiet conviction to the kind of story routinely exploited on the big screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 8, 2002

The acting is so good in Monster's Ball, and the understated but intense mood so skillfully maintained, that we tend to overlook the story's contrivances.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 8, 2002

Monster's Ball shows that convincing acting and a detailed, developed sense of place can make a story not only believable but moving.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 8, 2002

The best thing Marc Forster's direction does is take these characters through their experiences at a convincingly naturalistic respiratory rate...

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 8, 2002

Holds you in thrall from first frame to last.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Feb 7, 2002

It's Berry who sets the pace. Her performance is a triumph of emotion and abandon.

Full Review | Feb 7, 2002

The courage and poignancy of their performances is deeply moving.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 7, 2002

A stunning achievement that features Billy Bob Thornton and Halle Berry in career-defining performances.

Full Review | Feb 7, 2002