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Monster's Ball

Monster's Ball

Drama · Romance · 2001

A prison guard begins a tentative romance with the unsuspecting widow of a man whose execution he presided over.

Movie details

Monster's Ball

“A lifetime of change can happen in a single moment.”

2001 Drama · Romance 1h 53m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

A prison guard begins a tentative romance with the unsuspecting widow of a man whose execution he presided over.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Monster's Ball?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Marc Forster

Written by

Milo Addica · Will Rokos

Billy Bob Thornton

Billy Bob Thornton

Hank Grotowski

Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger

Sonny Grotowski

Halle Berry

Halle Berry

Leticia Musgrove

Sean Combs

Sean Combs

Lawrence Musgrove

Yasiin Bey

Yasiin Bey

Ryrus Cooper

W

Will Rokos

Warden Velesco

Milo Addica

Milo Addica

Tommy Roulaine

Court is in session

Put Monster's Ball on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.