This is a very brave movie. Not because of the racism or the sex or the execution, but because it trusts its viewers. It does not insult us by making the characters chatter for hours beating the themes into the ground until even the most simple-minded viewer "gets" it. The screenwriters (like William Faulkner and Hemingway and Welty before them) understand that they won't reach most of the population. They teach to the top of the class by entrusting the theme to a few well-placed, well-acted lines. In a culture where few people have ever read a novel, much less a good novel, much less a great novel, this movie is brave enough to be literary. It challenges the viewer to draw from his or her own emotions and life experiences to meet it half-way. Most aren't willing to do that. They take their movies like they take their food, fast and easy. But for those of us looking for more, this is art. 10/10
Review of Monster's Ball
