Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer
Directed by Nick Broomfield
Ronin Films
Now screening at Valhalla, Sydney and Melbourne
Reviewed by Jon Land
This film traces the life of Aileen Wuornos, a 35-year-old sex worker who killed seven men between 1990 and 1991 on Interstate 75. Tagged "America's first female serial killer" by the FBI, she was the first woman to be sentenced to death in Florida after the reintroduction of the death penalty in that state.
Film maker Nick Broomfield pieces together a documentary collage of intrigue from the events surrounding her arrest, trial and imprisonment. Combining television coverage with his own often bizarre interviews, he draws out the deceit and dishonesty of those claiming to act on Wuornos' behalf, the police conspiracy to attain the film rights to her case and a legal system abused by those in power.
Aileen Wuornos came from a totally dysfunctional family. She is the daughter of her own sister, her father committed suicide in prison while serving a sentence for molesting a seven-year-old girl, and her brother and grandfather repeatedly sexually abused her. She left home at the age of 16 and worked as a prostitute to support herself. The relationship with girlfriend Tyria Moore was her sole source of affection and stability.
Her regular clients were nearly all soldiers and military personnel from nearby bases until the approach of the Gulf War, when they left for Saudi Arabia. She started to work along the interstate expressway, and with new and unfamiliar clients came sexual torture, rape and threats of death. Wuornos claims that she killed the seven men in self-defence and in fear for her life.
When she was arrested, the media had a field day, with headlines like "Man-Hating Murderer" and "Lesbian Serial Killer". The scramble was on to make money from her life story. Broomfield reveals that police involved in the case made movie deals with Hollywood a month before Wuornos' arrest. They used Tyria Moore to trap Wuornos into admitting to the killings, several of which evidence suggests she herself was involved with. Moore has not been prosecuted for any of these.
Much of the film involves interviews with Wuornos' lawyer, Steve Glazer (who sings and plays rock hits from the past almost as badly as he practises law), and born-again Christian Arlene Pralle, who legally adopted Wuornos while she was on trial. They act as Wuornos' agents, professing to help and protect her, but it is pretty clear by the end of the film that their chief motivation is monetary gain.
They convinced Wuornos to enter a plea of no contest, which assured that the death sentence would be passed. According to Pralle, this seems reasonable. "The state has a death sentence so, golly, in a few years she could be with Jesus. Why not go for it?" In order to interview Wuornos, Broomfield has to pay Glazer and Pralle $10,000.
When Broomfield does finally meet with Wuornos, it's pretty clear that she has come to doubt the motives of Glazer and Pralle. She has total contempt for the legal process that allowed her to be used not only by them, but also by the authorities who manipulated her case for political mileage.
There are many anomalies with court proceedings, such as information kept from the jury (the first man she killed was a convicted rapist and had served time in an institution) and inadequate legal representation.
While there is no doubt that Wuornos killed or was involved in the killing of seven men, her legal rights have been denied and abused. Much of the prosecution centred on her supposed "hatred of white Anglo men" who represented her father. Her trial was trial by homophobia. Geneticists have even asked that parts of her body tissue and brain be preserved for future experimentation.
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer is a compelling film. The chilling portrayal of a failed legal system is a good reminder of the broader social system that discriminates across the board on the grounds of race, class, sex and sexual preference.n
[Readers interested in finding out more about Aileen Wuornos and other lesbians on death row can do so by reading the April '94 edition of Lesbians on the Loose.]