Flickering Opinions: May

Film Details:

Directed and written by Lucky McKee

Starring
Angela Bettis (Girl, Interrupted, Bless the Child)
Jeremy Sisto (Clueless, Suicide Kings, "Six Feet Under")
Anna Faris (Scary Movie, Scary Movie 2)
James Duval (Donnie Darko, SLC Punk!)

Review: by Melissa (e-mail your faithful reviewer)

Oh, god.

You need to see this film.

I mean it.

This is literally the best creepy flick I have seen in years. The material is fresh, exciting, and immaculately handled. The performances are superb. I was swept away by every frame of celluloid that clicked past.

Lion's Gate is planning to only release this film in three cities, only in the art houses. WRITE THE STUDIO and tell them to show some balls and distribute it nationwide. Yes, it's that good. You want to see this movie. Yes, you do. Do not doubt me.

I watched this with an audience who did not know what was being sprung upon them. After the film was over, even the non-horror fans looked at me and said, "Wow, that was amazing..."

When you go see this film, make sure you know as little about it as possible. Part of the sublime skill of this movie is not quite knowing where it's leading you.

Think about doing Amelie as a horror film. That should give you enough of an idea about what this movie is like.

Basically, it's about this very lonely young woman who works at a veteranery clinic. She's awkward and shy, and she has no friends, except for a doll that her mother gave to her. One day, May spots a man in the park, and she utterly falls in love with him. Desperate for some sort of companionship, she focuses everything she has on getting him to notice her.

The movie goes on from there, and to say more would be a crime. The pacing is deliberate, and you spend much of the movie watching this poor, awkward girl struggle to relate to the people around her. The characters in the film are almost too-familiar and often heartbreaking. They wriggle their way into your head and heart, and then the movie starts playing with you.

Once you reach the end of the film, you will realize what a delicate and awesome balancing act this movie pulls off. It is only then that you realize that the first hour wasn't just fleshing out the characters -- the outcome was hinted at all along.

And you have never shared headspace with a villain quite like this.

This is the sort of film that goes down in the history books with the moniker of "classic". It definitely goes on my list as being one of my favorite horror flicks of all time. Yes, it's that good.

This is a beautiful movie. This is a horrifying movie. This is a movie that needs to be seen. You want this movie. Go write Lion's Gate.

02222003 Addendum:

On February 7th, the film was released in Fresno, CA and Austin, TX, with the intent that if it does well, it will be released in New York and Los Angeles. So far, no news on the film opening in wider markets, but please keep your eyes open. We'll post updates when we get them.

In the meantime, you can read Ain't It Cool News' interview with the star of May.