For Netflix subscribers, "Monster" has become a regular fixture. The series of stories inspired by true events, each season attempting to reconstruct the complex figures of some of history's most brutal murderers, has attracted audiences not only for the thrill of the brutal backstories, but also for its exploration of the psychological traits and underlying causes that led the subjects to transform into such inhuman beings. Despite now being one of the streaming service's flagship titles, the franchise has often been criticized for its excessive liberties with respect to real events. This aspect, above all, has never convinced critics, but it bucks the trend of interest shown by home viewers.
After a compelling debut focused on the profile of Jeffrey Dahmer, also known as the "Milwaukee Monster," we then explored the case of the Menendez brothers, inspired by the true crime story that, in the hot summer of 1989 in Beverly Hills, saw the two young men cold-bloodedly murder their parents. The third season, set in rural Wisconsin in the 1950s, retraced the adventures of Ed Gein, also known as the "Plainfield Butcher," played for the occasion by the celebrated Charlie Hunnam.
A personality so dark that his horrendous crimes inspired cinematic masterpieces like "Psycho," "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre," and "The Silence of the Lambs." Not surprisingly, the weight of the role was so heavy that it even intimidated Hunnam himself. He stated in a previous interview with Entertainment Weekly: "I started doing research, reading all the books on Ed Gein, and I completely panicked. I thought I might never be able to get out of it. It's such a dark role, really difficult to inhabit as a character."
And, after careful analysis, explaining the human nature hidden behind the monster, he added: "You realize that that person has taken a terrible path as a consequence or reaction to something they've experienced, but you can still understand what they felt and how they felt. From there, I tried to build the character, to humanize him, and honestly not to judge him. But at the same time, I had to be careful not to feel too much empathy for him. It was really like walking a fine line."
On the occasion of the release of "Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story," the fourth season of episodes released on Netflix on September 17, the actor spoke again about the franchise and his return, this time as Andrew Borden: the protagonist's father, murdered along with his wife in 1892. Set in Massachusetts, the series tells the story of Lizzie, a young woman who, despite coming from a wealthy background, lives in a repressive and humiliating home. Fueling her urge to vent and her desire for emancipation is, above all, her difficult relationship with her father Andrew and her stepmother Abby, two overwhelming figures who—in the show's reconstruction—will lead her to take the extreme step of killing them with an axe in the name of her own freedom. This is the beginning of one of the most notorious trials in American history, aimed at reconstructing the precise dynamics of the murders and the underlying reasons that may have led to such a brutal crime.
Interviewed again by Entertainment Weekly, Hunnam took the opportunity to highlight the specific differences between Gein's character and Borden's. Regarding the former, he stated: "Ed Gein was a deeply disturbed character who engaged in a very perverse depravity for a long period." In the latter case, however, the situation seemed more ambiguous, as Lizzie Borden was never convicted of the double homicide. He added: "If she actually committed this crime, and it was never proven, it was a much more understandable crime of passion."
Further emphasizing the toxicity of the family environment in which Lizzie was born and raised, he said: "She lived in this incredibly oppressive home, with a father who was completely unavailable and who ruled in a cold, strict, and stingy way, and an unhappy stepmother who resented her." It was precisely the tension, jealousy, and sense of oppression, Hunnam claims, that plausibly triggered the young woman's murderous instinct: "It culminated in this crime of passion, where this seemingly very innocent and very kind girl exploded and brutally murdered both her parents."
Giovanni Scanu
