The supporting performances by Heaht Ledger and Mos Def outshine the leads.

Havin a hard time scoring this movie. I think the best part is watching Thornton's character evolve from the start to the finish of the film. Doyle's small role (as Thornton's dad) does a good job in proving to me that there is an evolution going on. Don't think Berry should have won an Oscar for her performance. It was solid but not amazing or memorable (for the most part). The scene where she is hitting her kid was rough to watch. Wish the ending would have concluded things better.

To start off, Halle Berry gives us the most overrated and overpraised performance of the past decades. She DID NOT deserve that Oscar. Anyway, Monster's Ball is a hard-hitting winner....sort of. As frustrating as it is to get used to and while it represents a variety of flaws, its a depressing and discouraging gem. To conclude, it's great.

Halle Berry, Oscar Winning Actress. lol.

Forster focuses on the middle man in three generations of corrections officers. The film starts right out throwing haymakers -- first-thing-in-the-morning vomit, wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am sodomy, good-ole-boy bigotry, Death Row, the Last Walk, more vomit, a suicide, and a hit-and-run fatality -- before it settles down to a hesitant, awkward, muted interracial romance, and more vomit. By that time, it's all punched out. The electric-chair diaper is a new screen detail, if you're keeping track.

An interesting and intelligent film about disparate characters finding each other during a time of crisis. Recommended.