“I hate my kids–may as well come out and say it. They’re parasites, actually. Not just my kids. Kids in general.”
That line, spoken by Chloë Sevigny’s Kitty Menendez, was seen in a lot of the advertisements and commercials for Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. The title, obviously, is a reference to how the public viewed the two young men who killed Kitty and her husband, Jose Menendez, played by Javier Bardem. The season, on the other hand, poses that that the title refers to the parents as much as the kids. What interested Chloë Sevigny, however, was how the series explores addiction, recovery, and abuse while portraying a real-life person from multiple perspectives.
There is a lot of anger witnessed in the Menendez household. Jose hurls that rage at his sons and, as they get older, that anger starts coming out of the younger Menendezes. Does Kitty keep hers in? Are women or mothers allowed to express frustrated anger?
If you rewatch Monsters or dial into Sevigny’s scenes, you will notice how the structure mostly shows Kitty through the eyes of her children through recollections and recounts. Jose will also talk about his wife, and we see them together as a young couple determined to make it despite everyone assuming they would fail. Sevigny brings a devoted love for her husband that takes up a lot of space in the room, as if she’s performing to overcompensate for the dark times in their marriage.
Chloë Sevigny mentions how she boarded Monsters right after she portrayed C.Z. Guest in the second season of Feud. Would these women be friends if they found themselves in the same social circle? Sevigny has always been an actor to lean into the ugly and desperate sides of a character, and she doesn’t shy away with her portrayal of Kitty. She never makes excuses for what her character does and does not do, but she imbues them with the most complicated authenticity you could ask for.
Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story is streaming now on Netflix.
