Berry, Halle – MONSTER’S BALL

Rating: 5

Few performances have blown me away the way Halle Berry’s did in MONSTER’S BALL.  As Leticia Musgrove, the tormented widow of an executed felon unwittingly involved with one of the prison guards who oversaw the execution, she fights inner demons with exquisitly calibrated, raw emotions that show both her character’s toughness and vulnerability. I spoke to Berry on January 8, 2002, when the Oscar buzz was just beginning.  
There is a potential spoiler here as we discuss the last scene in the film, in which Berry eloquently comes to a resolution about her troubled life without saying a single word.  It’s an astonishing piece of acting and one that I would have been remiss not asking about. We started the converstation, though, with my asking Berry how she prepared for such an emotionally challenging role.