Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer: Documentary on Famous Female Serial Killer

The film Aileen Wuornos: the Selling of a Serial Killer tries to take the position that while Wuornos was indeed a killer she was wronged in many ways throughout her life and a victim in her own right. It's a difficult task to attempt and draw sympathy for an admitted serial murderer but director Nick Broomfield accomplishes it by showing how the people in her life used her for their own selfish, personal benefit.

For example, Arlene Pralle, the woman who adopts her while she's in prison waiting to be tried is portrayed as a phony, manipulative woman who pressures Aileen into pleading a no contest to all of her crimes so that she'll die sooner. The sooner Aileen is killed, the sooner Arlene gains the rights to Aileen's story and all of the financial benefits that come with it. Arlene takes on the façade of a very religious, morally upstanding farm woman who felt sorry for Aileen and fell in love with her because she had innocent looking eyes.

As the film progresses Arlene begins gradually changing her story and her demeanor towards the filmmaker. Nick Broomfield pays Arlene $1,000 to get an interview with Aileen on camera, but later on in the film Arlene completely denies that she ever received any money and eventually refuses to speak to Broomfield altogether. When Broomfield finally does receive an interview with Wuornos, she claims that she believes Arlene and her attorney are out for money and that they manipulated her into changing her pleas as well as suggesting different ways that she could commit suicide in jail.

Steve Glazer, Aileen's attorney almost functions as a comic relief in the film. He's a strange looking man who runs his law office out of a dirty room in his house and frequently plays folk songs in front of the camera. Glazer seems incapable of giving Aileen proper guidance as an attorney and generally comes off as kind of a goofball. One key scene in the film is when Glazer is having a friendly chat with Broomfield about getting paid and his demeanor suddenly changes for a couple seconds to show visible concern about when he will receive his money. Glazer also influenced Aileen into pleading to a no-contest and gave her different suggestions about committing suicide as well.

Wuornos becomes a sympathetic character because in comparison to a lot of the characters around her she seems genuine. This is a woman who has suffered different kinds of abuse her entire life and in her last days is being manipulated by a group of very phony, dishonest people who seek to gain personal benefit from her story. The film takes the position that Aileen is a killer, but she is still a human being and should not be used as a product for people to earn money off of.