The dramatic turning point arrives when Wuornos, driven back to prostitution, picks up a sadist (Vincent Corey) who ties her up and rapes her in an assault almost as horrifying as the rape scene in Boys Don't Cry. Freeing herself, she shoots him dead, buries his body and takes his money and car.
Something has permanently snapped inside Wuornos, and her once-suppressed fury at men is unleashed. The rest of her killings (not all are shown) could be seen as paranoid responses to the rape.
All are carried out to get money, which is quickly squandered on free-spending binges in motels and bars, and any sympathy you might have had for Wuornos after the rape begins to evaporate. One victim is a geeky, bumbling virgin; another a mild-mannered family man who tries in vain to reason with her.
What makes these encounters all the sadder is Wuornos' obvious horror and guilt at the pattern she has begun repeating.
Once she kills a policeman in civilian clothes, it's only a matter of time before she is identified and brought to justice.
Her final comment is a summary retort to all the comforting upbeat maxims like "Everything happens for a reason," and "Where there's life, there's hope," that help us fend off despair. After reeling off the list, she sneers, "They've gotta tell you something."
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