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Monster's Ball

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Monster's Ball (2001)

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Reviews Counted:141

Fresh:120

Rotten:21

Average Rating:7.4/10

Consensus: Somber and thought provoking, Monster's Ball has great performances all around.

Runtime: 1 hr 53 mins

Genre: Dramas

US Box Office: $31,252,964

Synopsis: MONSTER'S BALL is a hard hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. It is the story of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), an embittered prison guard working on Death Row... MONSTER'S BALL is a hard hitting Southern drama tempered by a story of powerful, life-changing love. It is the story of Hank (Billy Bob Thornton), an embittered prison guard working on Death Row who begins an unlikely, but emotionally charged affair with Leticia (Halle Berry), the wife of a man he has just executed. MONSTER'S BALL also features Heath Ledger and Peter Boyle. Boyle plays Hank’s bigoted, aging father, whose hatred seems to have poisoned his entire family as much as the family business, which is working on the prison Death Squad. Ledger plays Hank’s son, who is hell-bent on getting out of the family business. The film is directed by award-winning filmmaker Marc Forster. He was nominated for an IFP/West Spirit Award as Best Low Budget Feature and won the Movado "Someone to Watch" Prize at the 2001 Spirit Awards for his film, "Everything Put Together."

Set in Georgia, MONSTER'S BALL was filmed entirely on location in and around New Orleans, Louisiana and at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola (also known as "The Farm").

MONSTER'S BALL is from an original screenplay by Milo Addica and Will Rokos, is produced by Lee Daniels, executive produced by Mark Urman, Mike Paseornek, and co-produced by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. Lions Gate Films will release the film in December, 2001. -- © 2001 Lions Gate Films [More]

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle

Starring: Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Heath Ledger, Peter Boyle, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Mos Def

Director: Marc Forster

Director: Marc Forster
Screenwriter: Milo Addica, Will Rokos
Studio: Lions Gate Films

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Reviews for Monster's Ball

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1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Bubble View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
Reviews
Tomatometer Critic Review Category
N/R

Urban Cinefile Critics

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 17 2002 08:03 AM

Urban Cinefile

tomato
3/5

Garth Franklin

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jun., 13 2002 08:03 AM

Dark Horizons

splat
2/4

Jonathan Rosenbaum

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 15 2009 03:15 AM

Chicago Reader

tomato
3/5

Mark Halverson

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Aug., 07 2008 03:15 AM

Sacramento News & Review

tomato
4/4

Joe Lozito

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jul., 14 2007 03:19 AM

Big Picture Big Sound

tomato
B

Emanuel Levy

Though marred by script that telegraphs its messages, this drama still manages to tell a compelling love story betweenn a redneck guard and a black widow, well played by Billy Bob Thronton and particularly Halle Berre, who should get Oscar nomination

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 25 2006 01:13 PM

EmanuelLevy.Com

N/R

Derek Adams

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 09 2006 03:16 AM

Time Out

tomato
3.5/5

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2005 07:30 PM

Film Threat

tomato
B

Jeffrey Overstreet

Forster makes us too intimate with these characters. But, heavy-handed and derivative as it is, its lead actors strike some resonant chords....

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 06 2004 05:10 PM

Looking Closer

tomato
3.5/5

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 12 2004 05:03 PM

Film Threat

splat
1.5/4

Susan Tavernetti

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 20 2003 05:03 PM

Palo Alto Weekly

N/R

Wilson Morales

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | May., 13 2003 05:03 PM

BlackFilm.com

N/R

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Apr., 25 2003 08:03 AM

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

tomato
4/5

Caroline Westbrook

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Mar., 02 2003 08:07 AM

Empire Magazine

tomato
4.5/5

John R. McEwen

Thornton and Berry show us what acting is in this movie.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Feb., 08 2003 08:05 AM

Film Quips Online

tomato
3/4

Wesley Lovell

Halle Berry turns in an amazing performance.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Jan., 29 2003 08:05 AM

Oscar Guy

tomato
A

Rebecca Murray

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 17 2002 08:06 AM

About.com

tomato

Stephen Farber

Recalls Tender Mercies, another astutely acted character study that remained resolutely small-scale and was all the more affecting because it didn't overreach.

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Dec., 02 2002 08:04 AM

Movieline

tomato
3.5/4

Jeff Strickler

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

Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Nov., 06 2002 02:49 PM

Minneapolis Star Tribune

tomato
4/5

Matthew Turner

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Full Review Source: | comment Comment | Oct., 30 2002 08:05 AM

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