Second Sights Release Of Lucky McKee's 'MAY' Is A Cult Favorite That Comes Up Lacking Where It Counts
Indie films are a source of great vexation for me. Just like how I imagine an extraterrestrial intelligence must eye us suspiciously from a distant star system, I gaze upon indie filmmakers and their fans with barely a cursory understanding of their curious infatuation with the mundane and the understated, but I’m fascinated nonetheless. I’ve never happened across a person who claims GARDEN STATE, for example, as their favourite movie, but someone out there must feel that way. Similarly, I expect someone out there counts this, MAY, as their favourite and I’m not entirely sure how to process that information.
May is a shy and socially awkward young woman who works as a veterinary assistant. Cursed from birth with a lazy eye and an overbearing mother, she has always struggled to make friends. Now, as an adult, May is taking her first steps into a much larger and unpredictable world for which she is not adequately prepared - - that of love, lust and the search for perfection…
MAY is the very definition of “one and done”, at least as far as I’m concerned, if not for the subject matter then certainly for the lack of feeling in any way edified come the conclusion. As a story, MAY is as basic-bitch as they come, and carries with it the pungent and unmistakable stench of arthouse wankery. The horror elements of the film suffer the most, and while they’re certainly not a prerequisite, you’d be forgiven for thinking there was something a lot more sinister at play here should you have cared to cast an eye over the early 2000’s promotional material. As it stands, they feel like mere afterthought, bolted on (ironically) to this Frankenstein’s movie.
Not lending any stylistic or dramatic support to the proceedings at all is LUCKY McKEE, pulling double duty as the film’s writer and director. I don’t necessarily want this to turn into a damning indictment of how men (generally) can’t convincingly write female characters that are supposed to have depth and nuance, but I’m gonna have to just go ahead and make this a damning indictment of how men (generally) can’t convincingly write female characters that are supposed to have depth and nuance. It’s my cross to bear of course, but I’m just not buying what McKEE is selling. May’s journey from shy and retiring child with a lazy eye to schizophrenic nut box is shallow and inane - her character’s pay-off, and, subsequently, the denouement, when she reaches adulthood is unearned and not a little anticlimactic. McKEE’s other crimes against storytelling are myriad; from first-year film student style metaphors to flat, uninspired photography, then all the way back round again by way of questionably exploitative sapphic encounters, MAY is the answer to the unasked question “what if I gave ELI ROTH a quarter of a million dollars and told him to film a movie’s Wikipedia synopsis”. It’s bland with a capital “eh”.
More recent and better examples of the “lonely/alienated girl losing her mind” sub-genre can be found in the so-far (to my knowledge) unparalleled SAINT MAUDE; a wonderfully neat and tidy film which more than capably holds the attention and makes its point in less than 90 minutes. It’s a real ride. And while MAY’s final 15-20 minutes are intriguing, they unfortunately sit atop an hour of disengagement and ponderousness.
But it’s not that MAY is an awful film. I’ve seen much, MUCH worse. It’s just that it’s not particularly unique nor is it as clever as it thinks it is. There’s some gold here of course; ANGELA BETTIS is superb as the twitchy and awkward titular character and ANNA FARIS is wonderful as the predatory veterinary receptionist Polly. Other characters, however, come and go with little fanfare and range from the cartoonish to nondescript and forgettable; however, I’d forgive you for allowing yourself a chuckle at the idea that JEREMY SISTO could be the object of wanton desire.
All in all, I can’t fault MAY for it’s sincere stab at originality, but I can fault it for its lack of vision and its execution.
SECOND SIGHT have always produced packages of the highest quality and MAY is no exception - - at least where the bountiful supply of extras is concerned. Picture quality is little above DVD standard if truth be told, but I can’t expect many to be too heartbroken about that. After all, beige is beige no matter how you present it. The transfer is clean and blemish free, and I expect literally 10’s of people are excited about adding this cult favourite to their collection.
MAY is available to order from SECOND SIGHT here. As is always the case with SECOND SIGHT’s releases, this disc is Region B locked.
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