Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Nick Broomfield, 2003)
What is the film about? Who are the main participants and what happens to them?
This documentary film is a prequel to Nick Broomfield’s 1992 Aileen Wuornos: The selling of a Serial Killer. Where the original focuses on the corruption and capitalising of her story, the 2003 Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer focuses on the judgement and justification of her execution.
The film begins with a hearing that Nick was personal asked to attend by Aileen, in which her new lawyer Joseph Hobson looks to gain another trail in the light of Aileen’s original lawyer Steven “Dr Legal” Glazer who illegally sold interviews about the case and clearly didn’t do a very good job as his client ended up with six death sentences. Nick Broomfield was actually used as a witness in the case, giving evidence about Dr Legal’s marijuana use before Aileen’s trail.
After the trail Nick met with Aileen, who confessed that all the murders were armed robbery and not self defence, to which Nick clearly believed she was trying to get her execution date moved forward. The middle section of the documentary was a deep dive into Aileen’s traumatic childhood; from being abandoned by her mother at 4 to living in the woods at 15. When he next saw Aileen she refused to talk about the cases and strongly believed that her family were all good “straight” no nonsense people. When the camera was down she told Nick she couldn’t talk about the cases because it would further put back her execution and that they were in self defence like originally stated.
With the election of Jeb Bush, the new governor of Florida, Aileen’s execution was set for October 9th given her psychiatric test. The day before the execution she did an interview with Nick, where she claimed to have been tortured while in prison using sonic pressure to alter her mental state. Aileen ended the interview early, shouting about returning with Jesus and condemning society for ending her life. She was deemed sane, and was executed the next day. The film ends with a spokesperson relaying her final words and then footage of her friend Dawn Botkins who had scattered her ashes.
Who made the film? Does the film hold a significant place in film history?
The film was made by British documentary filmmaker Nick Broomfield. His investigations are often on the life of famous individuals, such as Lily Tomlin or Kurt Cobain. This documentary is significant as Nick not only got tot share Aileen’s story but was an active part of her case.
How is the subject framed? Do the filmmakers use any interesting techniques to convey information to the audience? How is the film structured?
The film is structured chronologically, counting down till Aileen’s execution and analysing past interactions and information from the people who knew her. The film is structured into three main parts; the court where Nick is called as a witness and concludes with his first interview with Aileen, the retracing of her traumatic childhood and the second interview where he tries to understand her view of her family and the final few days leading up to her execution.
To what extent is the film a notable example of the "mode" you have identified above?
This film is a mixture of the participatory and the performative documentary types, as the information is all objective and not intentionally staged or dramatic, but Nick Broomfield is obviously an active part in the events that take place and is forced to directly intervene.
What was your personal reaction to the film? Which sequences were particularly effective or enjoyable? What do you think the filmmakers wanted to say?
After watching the film Monster but not knowing much about the proceedings of the trail, it was interesting to see and informative but not overly biased look into Aileen’s real life and trauma without the Hollywood dramatisation.