Set in America's South, prison officer Hank (Thornton) oversees the execution of a black inmate. We learn Hank is the son of a former prison guard and that he he is supervising the initiation of his own son (Sonny) into life as an officer at the local department of corrections.
A romance blossoms between Hank and the recently executed prisoner's wife, Latecia (Berry). Both are abusive, lonely parents, and the irrational romance that ensues between them serves only to remind us that not all American films are dripping with treacle. Monster's Ball gives an intimate view of family, romance, and racial intolerance in Southern USA. It features Halle Berry in her Academy Award winning role (who could forget that acceptance speech - right up there with Gwyneth Paltrow!), an always excellent Billy-Bob Thornton, and Australia's Heath Ledger, who has most definitely done his homework on how to do a southern drawl.

When a rich white man is murdered in a small Mississippi town, Virgil Tibbs (Poitier) seems like a good enough suspect to arrest, partly because he's a stranger in town, but mainly because he's black. The bigoted Sheriff Bill Gillespie (Steiger) eventually finds out, to his embarrassment, that Tibbs is a highly respected homicide detective from Philadelphia. Tibbs is instructed by his own chief to help the inexperienced Gillespie, needless to say neither of them is thrilled by the idea. Despite Tibbs's suppressed rage at the racism in the town and Gillespie's underlying fear that this black man might actually be the better cop, they have to learn to work together to solve the crime.
Whether you see it as a murder mystery or a struggle for social justice, the plot twists and continuous tension make it riveting and enjoyable. It certainly challenged attitudes at the time, much like Poitier's other ground-breaking role in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. Winner of five Oscars, including Best Actor for Steiger and Best Picture, the movie and its messages are still relevant today.