Review of Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992) by Sherry L — 19 May 2010

In this documentary by Nick Broomfield about Aileen Wuornos, USAs most infamous female serial killer, he first meets her lawyer, Steve Glazer (former musician) and then her since recently adoptive mother, Arlene Pralle. Arlene Pralle has a horse farm and after an accident some while ago when she got kicked by a horse her doctor told her it was the love of God going through her as a channel towards Eileen Wuornos that saved her life (even though she had never met her...). So Arlene hired then Steve to handle the adoption of Aileen Wuornos. Arlene claims to have a very tight relationship with Aileen and she promises an interview with Aileen. Arlene demands 25 000$ before even speaking to Nick Broomfield, and when being interviewed she repetedly asks about the money. Another appointment is planned and Nick goes to Arlene´s farm to complete the interview. Arlene then wants to raise the sum with 10 000$. When Nick asks her about the raise she only refers him to Steve, who now is not only Aileens lawyer but Arlenes agent. Arlene and Steve convinced Aileen to change her plead from not guilty to guily, and Aileen agreed only cause she thought her sentence would be lower if she did so, but it works just the opposite. Steve took his guitar and played Iron Lady to Aileen afterwards to cheer her up. Suddenly Arlene refuses to complete the interview next time Nick visits and threatens to call the police if he don´t leave, even though he has already paid her half the money in advance. In the end finally they get the interview with Aileen Wuornos which really is the highlight in this documentary. This shows a very nice and honest woman, despite all the horrible things she´d done she is also a victim (which do not justify the things she did by all means) in many ways. She tells frankly that Steve and Arlene are "money hungry" people, she got problems with but she doesn´t want to explain that further in front of the camera. But then she says it was mainly Arlene who convinced her to change her plead to guilty cause Arlene was tired of attending to trials and she told Aileen that she must give something for the people that make movies about the case. And both Arlene and Steve had suggested that Aileen should kill herself in the institution, and given her some ideas.

The most shocking with this movie is that Aileen Wuornos the serial killer, is the most decent person in this whole movie. It really sickens me that people take advantages of a death doomed person, like this to make money. I don´t buy Aileens claims that it was just selfdefence. Definately not. And Im also sure that the judges felt a great pressure to sentence this woman to death after all the attention from media, and to set a kind of an example. I can´t say if Aileen would have gotten a different sentence if she hadn´t changed her defence, but I think she would have better odds.