Monster's Ball

10/21/2018

***Powerful message in a melancholic drama bogged down by un-real contrivances and other issues*** A father and son (Billy Bob Thornton and Heath Ledger) are correctional officers in Louisiana who live with their father, a former corrections officer and hateful racist (Peter Boyle). After overseeing the execution of a black man (Sean 'Diddy' Combs) a couple of tragedies compel the father, Hank (Thornton), to meet the struggling ex-wife of the executed man (Halle Berry). The cast, locations, score and directing are all excellent. The problem is the contrived script, which tends to focus on the worst in humanity and sometimes creates a feeling of surreal un-reality. As far as the former goes, the first half features ugly racism, prostitution (and the corresponding overt sex scene), ha