Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer is a 2003 documentary by Nick Broomfield and details the crimes committed and eventual death of American serial killer, Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos is an incredibly interesting character and the documentary made me feel extremely sympathetic towards her as it is clearly evident she is mentally unwell yet is still executed under the death penalty in Florida. The documentary gravitates towards tropes of the performative and participatory modes of documentary in that the documentary maker, Broomfield, makes his presence extremely evident. However I felt that by inserting himself so heavily in the documentary, Broomfield was portraying himself as the hero trying to save Wuornos and her reputation. Whilst I agree her punishment was unjust given her mental state, I think the documentary is at a disadvantage at the fault of Broomfield and his saviour persona. He evidently had built a relationship with her after having made his 1992 documentary Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, however his continuous presence throughout his new film can at times distract from Wuornos who is ultimately the star of the documentary. I would still recommend and rewatch this documentary as it is a unique and interesting human interest and crime story however I question what the different outcome would be if Broomfield wasn’t featured as much.