Last night I watched May and felt compelled to share my thoughts on this experience. Angela Bettis stars as the title character in a startling turn that is both disturbing and heart-rending. Her May is a sad creature that has spent her life searching for love and connection with no idea how to find it. Jeremy Sisto plays the 'perfect boy', Adam, with his usual blend of intelligence and brooding, and Ana Faris (of the Scary Movie franchise) is eye-catching as the lipstick lesbian with no idea of the danger she is getting herself into, it is a great performance. The story is told simply and without too many surprises in how things pan out, but it is compelling viewing in the way that a car crash will turn your head even though you don't want to see the carnage inside. May is headed inexorably towards an ending that seemingly cannot be halted, and it is this kind of fated life that we are all so fascinated about, much the same way that bookstores are crammed with novels about the downward spirals of serial killers; there is something in that path that we can't help but be interested in. Her cold and lonely childhood with a distant mother and ineffectual father, her treatment as a 'freak' due to her lazy eye, her connection with the doll her mother gave her, her rejection by those she believed loved her, all effect the fragile mental state she nurses throughout her life. When she finally cracks (like the glass covering her doll's case) it is with explosive, violent results. This film is not bloodthirsty and in fact treats its subjects with a kind of understanding and tenderness that is lacking in most modern 'horror' films. There is violence and blood and these are shot to shock you but they are not dwelled on and in fact most of the film is concerned with acquainting the audience with May and her sad little world. Her tentative, shaky attempts at romance are sweet and pathetic but you can't help being slightly repulsed by her desperation and need. Something that the object of her affection also felt I'm sure, and something that is skillfully recreated inside of you. That dual disgust and pity is what drives this picture and keeps you rooting for her long after you should have stopped. Although it was a little slow in parts and maybe tried a little too hard to be 'arty' - a pet dislike of mine - this is a powerful story, intelligently told, with an ending that has stayed with me.
Review of May
