The Cover

It's a follow-up of sorts to Nick Broomfield's film Aileen: The Selling of a Serial Killer, filmed nearly ten years ago. I didn't review that film because I felt it too cursory and narrow a topic. Selling of… examined how some people around Aileen (including her lawyer) were unconscionably involved with exploiting her for commercial purposes. Along with some police officers investigating her case (and later fired) this group conspired to turn the story of Aileen Wuornos into a book and movie deal. It was an obvious conflict of interest for nearly all involved.

Life and Death essentially recaps what happened ten years ago, so don't feel that you're missing out. In a sweep of serendipity, Nick Broomfield's Selling of... is brought into evidence in one of Aileen's appeals. Being the kind of huckster-like persona that he is, Broomfield isn't shy about covering the events that transpire. In an almost naïve manner, Broomfield tells the prosecutors about his experiences with Wuornos's original attorney and gives many reasons why her original defense was less than competent.

But it's all for naught. Aileen is slated to die, and she's willing to talk about it. In exclusive interviews, Aileen talks to Broomfield about her case and her theories about the how and why. Naturally, this ranges from the insightful to the completely insane; Wuornos provides conflicting ideas and changing stories about the crime. It goes from self-defense, to cold blooded killing, to "sonic pressure from the police" and that the police "allowed her to kill."

There are several things going on here, not the least of which is Aileen's increasing mental disease, instantly obvious to any reasonable person. It's no act. Furthermore, when she's lucid, Aileen lies about her crimes IN ORDER to be put to death. At the time of the filming, she had been on death row for nearly ten years, and was tired of waiting to die. So she lies. She says that she killed without conscious, for no reason. But as viewers, we know with certainty that her first victim had brutally attacked and sodomized her - the case was justified in terms of self defense, yet she was still convicted of that crime. That's not to say the other killings were justified, just that she wasn't justly treated on the original murder charge.

Obviously, it's a confusing and frustrating set of events that transpire, both for the viewer, Broomfield and Wuornos herself. Life and Death is short, but still provides an interesting and engaging time. Wuornos is a fascinating person, at times funny and charming, while still having the able to go frighteningly off the track. It's obvious that she was a woman screwed, if not by the system, than by the series of tragic circumstances that marked her early life.

In a way Life and Death is both a sequel to Broomfield's original film and the movie Monster. I would actually recommend that you buy both Monster and Life and Death. It's a kind of one-two that provides an insightful and sometimes frightening look into the mind of a serial killer.

Movie Grade: A

Aileen at her arrest.

Video: 3 out of 5
Documentary, 16mm style footage. You know what to expect.
Full Screen 1.33:1

Audio: 3 out of 5
Same goes for the audio. Stereo
English (Stereo 2.0)

Extras: 0 out of 5
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

Overall: 4 out of 5
I look at this disc as one big extra for the movie Monster. In that sense, it's worth both your time and money, if only to understand what this very contrary person was all about.

(Monster DVD review upcoming. I actually wrote above that you should buy both movies together before I realized that they are indeed selling them together. Highly recommended that you do so if you're at all interested.)

Buy the Monster and Aileen 2-Pack and Support Lights Out Films