Movie

Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

2003 · 89 min

A grim, claustrophobic plunge into a condemned woman's unraveling mind, leaving you unsettled and angry long after it ends.

Directed by: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill
Genres: Documentary, Crime
Starring: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Diane Wuornos

Tagline: The 2002 Interviews.
Overview: British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.

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Directed by: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill
Genres: Documentary, Crime
Starring: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Diane Wuornos

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How it feels

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Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
darkstrength 3 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: death
justice
madness
trauma
isolation
Places: prison
small town
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: documentary
true story
Content intensity: Gore none
Language strong
Violence mild
Sex mild

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	1
Horror	3
Humour	1
Realism	10
Romance	0
Tension	6
Darkness	9
Complexity	6
Emotional weight	9

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Where to watch in the UK

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Channel 4

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Details

Genres: documentary, crime
Directed by: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill
Starring: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Diane Wuornos, Arlene Pralle, Tyria Moore, Dawn Botkins, Michelle Chauvin, Dick Mills
Cinematography: Joan Churchill
Runtime: 89 min
Country: United Kingdom
Languages: English

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Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer

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