Aileen: the Life and Death of a Serial Killer
Nick Broomfield

Nathalie Rothschild

In Aileen: the Life and Death of a Serial Killer, Broomfield revisits the 44-year old 'man-hating lesbian hooker' who was the subject of his 1992 documentary, Aileen Wuornos: the Selling of a Serial Killer.

In the 1992 film Broomfield showed how Aileen, sentenced to the death penalty for the murder of seven men, was betrayed by family, friends, the legal system, police officers and the media in Hollywood's hunt for her story - the story of 'America's first known female serial killer'. Ten years later Broomfield was issued a subpoena to appear in Florida for the final state appeal hearing before Wuornos' execution. By then, Aileen's case had been taken up by a lawyer who opposes capital punishment.

It soon becomes clear, however, that there is more to Aileen's wish to set a date for her execution than the resignation common amongst prisoners on death row, from which there is a minimal chance of escape. When she expresses a wish to 'cleanse her spirit in the name of Jesus Christ' through Broomfield's camera, she confuses both the director and the viewer about the circumstances in which she murdered seven clients while working as a 'hitchhiking hooker'. Aileen admits that she had not acted in self-defence, but refuses to go into detail about the murders, and she and Broomfield enter into a struggle on whether to hide or reveal the truth. Broomfield finds himself becoming part of Aileen's attempt to die.

This documentary is not just another campaign ad for the abolition of the death penalty. Aileen herself did not allow Broomfield to make a film about her life, or an explanation of her acts or about her possible guilt or innocence. Nor is it a film about the victims of crime or the victims of the legal system. Instead, it evokes all of these issues while never focusing on any one of them. Aileen wants the documentary to be about the media circus and about the cops who, she claims, let murderers kill so that they can be turned into subjects of high-profile films and books. Aileen is determined not to give Broomfield any 'book and movie info' and she is certain of the truth of her various conspiracy theories.

Does Broomfield let Aileen down by attempting to understand why this has happened, why she turned out the way she did? When he seeks out her story, shows us photos of her as a child, drives around in her old neighbourhood, speaks to people who have known her, it is actually not Aileen's message that comes out.

The only media coverage she accepted - Broomfield's film - was to be one where she could reveal how corrupt the system is. But could Broomfield really have made this story? He is worried that mad people are being executed. If Aileen is indeed mad and paranoid, Broomfield cannot simply give us her story, but also has to situate himself in it. His slow, calm and composed way of talking is a stark contrast to Aileen's loud, impatient voice and sudden bursts of laughter. The close-ups of her ragged face and wide starring eyes almost become proof of her madness.

In the end, we are left to wonder whether this film has not become part of the media circus or whether Broomfield, by being on the side of goodness, has escaped and even challenged it.