Cheap Aileen Wuornos - The Selling of a Serial Killer (Video) (Nick Broomfield) Price

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Customer Reviews of Aileen Wuornos - The Selling of a Serial Killer

Important if flawed documentary
Right up front I should tell anyone reading this that I was one of three defense attorneys who represented Ms. Wuornos in her first trial in Deland, Florida, before "Dr. Legal" took her case over and pled her to death while comparing himself to Dr. Kevorkian. I should also let on that I am deeply saddened at the fact that yesterday she was executed in large part so the President's brother could get reelected Governor of this fine State.
Having gotten that out of the way, I can say that I have viewed this film several times, and it is fascinating. Somehow Mr. Broomfield manages to show Aileen exactly as she was, but at the same time makes you feel sorry for her as the people she trusts continually try to sell her out to make money from her story. It is also at times darkly humorous. You may never see an odder assemblage of real people. I have met all of them and can assure you that what you see is an accurate view.
I do have some minor quibbles. One of them involves the obvious shoestring budget. While it can lend an air of authenticity, at times it simply appears to be amateurish. Of greater concern to me was the voice over as the final credits roll wherein Broomfield seems to be dismayed that we (the Marion County Public Defender's Office)didn't return his calls. I would have thought that, since his thesis was that everyone was trying to cash in on the Wuornos story, he would have thought it admirable that we chose not to speak to people making a movie about our client.
Nonetheless I highly recommend this film. A lot can be learned about our society from watching it.

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Astonishing Documentary
Potential viewers turned off by the subject matter should be apprised that the murders committed by Aileen Wuornos are not shown, not dwelled upon, and not the main interest of this film; Broomfield is more interested in focusing upon the gallery of eccentrics, lunatics, and con men who have descended upon the imprisoned Wuornos to profit from her notoriety. Serious questions are raised by the conduct of her lawyer, a fringe-type who, here, is more interested in playing his folk songs on the guitar (presumably dreaming that this documentary will earn him a wider audience) than he is in fighting for his client; the thunderbolt that he was not licensed to actually defend a client in court is enough to make you realize that Wuornos, whatever her crimes, was entitled to more. By the time Wuornos appears for a brief interview at film's end, she emerges as the most sympathetic character in the film! Broomfield, who also made quality documentaries about Heidi Fleiss and Courtney Love, is no shallow celebrity-chaser; he has a genuine talent for getting people to reveal their true souls on film, often to their extreme detriment -- but to the benefit of the truth that may have been overlooked by more conventional news coverage. Nobody could have made up this stuff -- and it is frequently very, very funny.

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Does what a documentary does
Well documents the sad and absurd people and circumstances in Aileen Wuornos' new life as a serial killer in 1992. Best if seen with the 2002 interviews "Aileen - Life and Death of a Serial Killer" in order to appreciate how bizarre it all gets over time. Actually, it is essential to see them together.

Very objective in trying to find the truth in Aileen's unfolding and complex insanity.