Balades fatales

This is a competent made-for-TV movie, about average, maybe an iota above that. You can't complain about the acting. Jean Smart has just about the proper appearance, and is of the right age, to be Aileen Wuornos. Unglamorized she seems somewhat used. It's as if she'd once been bruised all over her face and body and has now just about, but not quite, healed. The chief investigator -- Tim Grimm? -- is usually a heavy, and here he looks better than he acts. The director moves the bodies around in front of the camera efficiently. Locations are put to good use, although seeing a meeting of the head detectives take place on an inviting beachfront plaza is a bit disconcerting and suggests a kind of forced use of the scenery. Like Dirty Harry having a chat with his colleagues in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge. Of course a lot of the dialogue needed to be invented, and the script is weak here and there. When one investigator shouts at the others, something like, "What if she shoots somebody else while we're waiting around? How would you feel about that!", it's a bit hard to swallow -- the notion that an experienced and hardened homicide investigator is going to talk like some guy in a Gestalt group therapy session -- although it's the kind of line that might come readily to a scriptwriter working hurriedly and drawing on his own background. Aileen Wuornos must have been an interesting character. The script tries to explain her serial killings (and all her other less lethal offenses since she was thirteen) by using what's come to be called the abuse excuse. "There is some indication that she was raped as a child by both her brother and step-father," intones a cop. Ho hum. The logical fallacy here is known as "post hoc ergo propter hoc" -- after this, therefore because of this. Certain kinds of social pathology have a tendency to show up more often in particular sectors of social space. It isn't that child abuse and serial killings are exclusively found in one class-related life style than another; it's just that they tend to be concentrated there. You expect impoverished disorganized families to produce child abusers, burglars, pointless murders, and lots of other kinds of illegal behavior, just as you expect a prep school education to be associated with white collar crime. A sad fact but true. But correlation doesn't necessarily mean causality. Because things go together doesn't mean one causes the other. The movie as a whole seems to be biased in favor of Aileen Wuornos and gives her most of the breaks. Not only was she raped, or so it is claimed, but her lesbianism, if that's what it was, is glossed over. And the man we see her kill, an ex police officer, is a pig of a human being -- fat, balding, domineering, brutal, selfish, and probably pulled the wings off flies when he was a kid. If anybody deserves to get it, he surely does. Another development, not the fault of the film, that leaves a kind of sour aftertaste is the betrayal of Aileen by her girlfriend, Tyrea or whatever it was. On a tapped phone, Tyrea prompts Aileen into confessing that she, Aileen, killed those guys all by herself. Tyrea had no idea. Tyrea was also a material witness against Aileen at the trial. Well, it's the smart thing to do, but it doesn't endear Tyrea to us. I felt the same way about Edmond O'Brien's role as an undercover cop in "White Heat," when he insinuates himself into James Cagney's trust and then eagerly squeals on him and shoots him. Or Linda Tripp for somewhat lesser transgressions. I realize it's necessary to keep the streets as clear of murderers as they are, but I wish that doing so didn't require us to play dirty moral pool. Aileen's confession didn't help her any. She was just executed a few weeks ago, Florida being the state that it is.

I accept the view of other contributors that this TV version of the story presents a sanitised picture with some aspects of the Wuornos story being reduced or ignored. In particular the motivation behind the murders is only peripherally explored and the true relationship between Wuornos and Tyria is really ignored being presented as room-sharing "sisters" almost.

However I do disagree with one commentator who says Jean Smart is awful in the title role. This is an actress I hadn't come across before but I can see from her IMDb entry that she has appeared in many films. I shall certainly keep an eye out for her in the future. I found her performance here compelling. She puts across the serial killer characteristics of someone who can function some of the time in their normal environment in a relatively "normal" manner but who is subsumed by an overwhelming compulsion in other circumstances. The scenes before her capture where she is dancing frenetically and aimlessly in a club and then is slouched in a yard full of bike-riders is a case in point.

I think an excellent performance from Smart well supported by Park Overall as Tyria though the police roles are perfunctory and basic at times.

Although the Charlize Theron version of this story is much more well known and garnered her worthy accolades this TV film is well worth watching if you get the chance.

Although there was nothing wrong with this movie nor acting, i found it a bit tiresome and not so cohesive solid portrayal of aileen. A & E biography is probably a better choice. And for sure 'Monster' version is more watchable. I don't believe in death penalty so as in this case a professional treatment instead of death would have been a better choice but sadly that was never offered and sadly she never searched for any professional help either.

Understandably, this low-budget TV movie is compared unfavorably to the acclaimed film "Monster", which, in a sense, romanticizes crime and hence appears more attractive to the public.

On the other hand, "Overkill" is closer to the true story. The one thing that is missing, though, is the part concerning the trial of Aileen Wuornos. There were some really strong moments there, and the courtroom scenes would have added to the authenticity of the film.

In addition, there is some very good acting in this film, not too inferior to the one that won a cinematic Oscar!

In my opinion, this TV movie is unjustly underrated...

This story was done again in 2003. It was done much better. TV movies generally restrict the viewers and this is no exception. It's a horribly botched film with explicit content toned down to fit the television standards. Aileen Wuornos deserves better than this. Her story was done justice in "Monster" (2003) with Charlize Theron, who won an Oscar(tm) for her performance. Just kidding. Both films suck. It's better to stuck to the documentary.

Aileen Wuornos was a prostitute with a lesbian lover who murdered her clients. Why? I have no idea; at least not after watching this movie. Jean Smart is bad as Wuornos and the film is incompetent.

This is just bad acting filling in for a mediocre movie, and bad directing trying to make up for absence of quality. Bring on the Monster.