Benedito Dias Rodrigues Had to be done for someone and it was made by a British filmmaker Nick Broomfield who made a fine approach of this matter,the society is ill and Aileen Wuornos was a final product of this,he explores all phases of Aileen's life since the beginning seeking for a reason and found many things that could explain how it happened this way....also interviewed her and is quite clear that was disturbed,mentally unbalanced for such pressure in jail and the media...the final days that preceded your execution in that early morning was sad...l'm so sorry for Aileen asking for your death somehow wasn't in vain...that the society take care our children carefully.Resume:First watch: 2007 / How many: 2 / Source: Cable TV-Netflix / Rating: 8

t_atzmueller If you're familiar with Broomfield's "Selling of a Serial Killer" you're probably comfortable with the directors off cheek way of recording events, almost as if it was shot for a home-video rather than for the BBC. It is difficult to dislike Broomfield, his gentle speech, his unkempt, casual appearance and unpretentious ways. "Selling" was a strange brew, documenting the trial of female serial killer Aileen Wuornos, concentrating on society's attempt to profit from her life, crimes, trial and consequently her death. Shot ten years later, "Life and Death of a Serial Killer" shows us Aileen during the last stage of her trial and her final days before execution. Comparing both films, "Life and Death" is the more important document.Interviewing Aileen, her childhood friends and relatives (many as disturbed/disturbing as Aileen herself), Broomfield shows us the underbelly of America; this is not the Hollywood America, this is the world of the so-called "white trash", the "rednecks" and the "hicks"; a land that was somehow left behind, forgotten by time and progress. It begs to question how anybody could have grown up completely normal in such an environment and how much more monstrosity lies beneath the facade of Norman Rockwell's Americana.More important, Broomfield questions the validity of the death penalty, and even though he makes no effort to hide his personal stance, his points are neither patronizing nor judgemental. There is no lecturing with a pointed finger; the director is simply there, recording a woman who is as obviously guilty as she is obviously insane. Lawyers and sycophants tried to profit from Aileen's crimes in "Selling" – in "Life and Death", Broomfield shows how the media circus and politicians (this being an election year) try to profit from her death.It could have been easy to portray Aileen as a "Monster", hiding under the disguise of a human being, but there is no "Monster" in this film. The director opts to talk to her one-on-one, showing us a human being who, again, is undoubtedly guilty but who would in any other part of the so-called First World, have ended up in a mental institution. "It makes you wonder what you have to do to fail", Broomfield muses over a competence test, referring to state of a society rather than the accused.At times the viewer finds himself captured by the 'charm of the psychopath', believing Aileen's stories of abuse, poverty and hardship. On many levels those stories may be true, but with time it becomes very clear that we're dealing with a very confused woman. About 20 minutes into the documentary, Aileen (having discovered Christ and feeling the need to "come clean") admits that she killed in cold blood, 'not for the thrill but for the bounty'. It is one of her most sincere moments, yet we see the wide stare of a schizophrenic; a mind so warped that it cannot distinguish between truth, lie or make-believe anymore.There's a feeling of sincerity throughout Broomfield's works, not only questioning the subject but also questioning the filmmakers methods. In one scene, an attorney accuses the director of 'manipulation' by having edited scenes from "Selling". Those court scenes add very little to the progress of the film and Broomfield could have easily cut them out. He kept them, almost as if to ask the viewer: "how far can you be manipulated yourself" and "where does fact end and fiction start". How far can you trust your eyes in our modern, media-driven world? Sadly, this remains one of Broomfield's lesser known works – I bought the DVD for 99 cent from a cheapo-bin, still slightly confused as to why there are so many more populist, manipulative and exploiting documentaries (Michael Moore comes to mind) selling for way more.

MarieGabrielle to see films like this. When the media dehumanizes a person for profit, and thanks to Nick Broomfield, we see the other side. A 13 year old girl raped and impregnated by her grandfather, who slept in the freezing Michigan forest when her family kicked her out of their house.Shame on Diane, Aileen's mother, who sits and states that Aileen loved living as a homeless person. The denial in this abusive family is rampant. I was actually angry and upset by this film.Actions have consequences. Abuse starts at home, and this entire situation escalated to the point it did because an abused woman finally lost her grip on life, she had no help, no means of support, and the state of Florida was only too pleased to step in and garner media attention during an election year.Capital punishment does not provide a deterrent (this is a scientific fact) but it does prove man's inhumanity. Thank you Mr. Broomfield for this upsetting documentary. 10/10.

bob_bear After watching this movie, one can only wonder how Hollywood had the gall to make the "Monster" movie. It's clear from this - and Nick's previous docu on Aileen - that Hollywood's only concern was to make money out of Aileen's misery. Negotiating with the police officials involved in the case and with her former lover for the inside story before judgment had even been passed. Shame on Hollywood. Shame on law enforcement. And shame on her ex. A sickening and a sad reflection on society in general.Aileen was mad. Mad as a hatter if her performance in this docu is to be believed - and I have no reason to doubt its authenticity. Clearly, she should have been locked up - not murdered. And if life imprisonment actually meant "life" then the pro-capital punishment lobby would not have a leg to stand on. But it doesn't. And so they do.There were times when Aileen came across as likable. Genuinely likable. And one could fully understand why the film maker felt a rapport with his subject. When she was lucid she made sense. She knew she had been stitched up by the media. The validity of her argument must be obvious to anyone with a brain.Not everyone who is abused becomes a serial killer. In fact virtually NOBODY who is does. Contributing factor, Yes. Justification, No. Indeed, there is no justification in the final analysis. She killed people.No justification for "Monster" either. I for one will NOT be watching it.