May (film)

May
Movie poster for May
Directed by	Lucky McKee
Written by	Lucky McKee
Produced by	2Loop Films
Starring	Angela Bettis
Cinematography	Steven Y. Yedlin
Edited by	Kevin Ford
Music by	Jaye Barnes Luckett
Distributed by	Lions Gate Films
Release date	2002
Running time	93m
Language	English
Budget	$500,000 (estimated)

May is a horror film released in 2002. It stars Angela Bettis, Anna Faris, and Jeremy Sisto, and was written and directed by Lucky McKee. It also features a memorable score and original songs by Jaye Barnes Luckett of the rock group Poperratic (then known as Alien Tempo Experiment 13).

Plot

The plot revolves around an awkward, lonely young woman named May Dove Canady. She had a troubled childhood as her lazy eye kept her from feeling normal. Due to her condition, May's mother suggests an eye patch for her to wear. Unfortunately, this does nothing except encourage the other children to make fun of her. She has very few social interactions with people throughout her life; her only "true friend" is a doll inside a glass case named Susy that her mother made and then gave to May for her birthday.

May works at a Veterinary Hospital, helping in surgery. As she attempts to interact with the people around her, she finds Adam, a local mechanic, and the perfect guy. May feels especially attracted to his hands. Adam finds her weird, but he feels attracted to her nonetheless so they start dating. At the same time, May has a brief fling with lesbian colleague Polly, who at times makes fun of her but feels turned on by May anyway. They make out a couple of times, in which May states that she especially likes Polly's neck.

One day Adam shows her a film he has made for university titled Jack and Jill, which tells the story of two young lovers who go on a picnic and end up actually eating each other. May gets aroused by that and while she's making out with Adam she bites him in the lip causing him to bleed. After this, Adam realizes she's too weird for him and leaves. May feels guilty and blames her doll Susy for encouraging her to do things wrong so she shouts at her and shoves her in the cupboard.

May starts working at a centre for disabled children looking after blind kids. She especially interested in a lonely girl she feels identified with. The little girl also likes May so she gives her an ashtray made of clay.

Adam stops calling her so one day May goes to his house and accidentally eavesdrop him calling her a loony and saying he's glad he could get rid of her. Heartbroken, May goes to see Polly only to find that she's with another girl. At home, she's totally miserable and when her cat refuses to go near her, she bursts in anger and throws the ashtray the little girl had given her at him, killing the cat.

The following day, she's sitting in a bench in the street when a punky boy named Blank sits besides her and talks to her. He becomes interested in her odd remarks about people not being entirely perfect but only having perfect "parts". May doesn't like him at first, but then says she likes the tattoo he has on his arm. They go to May's house and when he opens the freezer he finds the cat's corpse. Flabbergasted, he calls May a freak, something that infuriates her and makes her stab him in the head with a pair of scissors.

Later on, she goes to the school for blind kids and shows them her doll, telling them that that is her best friend. The children cannot see it, so they want to touch. May tries to put the doll away and struggles with the kids until the doll falls and the glass case shatters into pieces all around the floor, hurting the childrens' hands and legs.

At home, May is devastated at all the things that happened to her recently. Suddenly, she realizes that a perfect friend can only be made of all the perfect parts of the people she knows. Thus, on Halloween's night, she dresses up and goes to Polly's house. They talk for a while until May pulls out a couple of scalpels. Polly laughs at her, stating that May wouldn't hurt her until she actually stabs her in the neck, much to her astonishment. Then, Polly's lover, Ambrosia, arrives at the house. May admires her legs and asks her to turn around for her. Ambrosia accepts, not without calling her a freak first. After this, May stabs her in the head. Lastly, May goes to Adam's house. When she arrives there, she finds that Adam is with another girl called Buckle who lets May come in, much to Adam's annoyance. The sit at the table, and May asks Adam to touch her face. Adam refuses, something which into a discussion between May and Buckle. Finally, Adam decides to touch her in the cheek, at which point May stabs Buckle in the neck. Adam walks back in horror, and May stabs him in the chest.

Back at home, May starts designing her "new friend". She uses Blank's arms, Polly's neck, Adam's hands and Ambrosia's legs. Once the macabre doll is finished, she realizes that it can't actually see her. So, in a rush of misery, she gouges her right eye (the lazy one)out with the scissors. Crying in pain, she puts it on the head of the toy and leans her head against it. In a predeath hallucination, May sees her friend suddenly come to life and caress her.

Cast

• Angela Bettis - May Dove Canady
• Jeremy Sisto - Adam Stubbs
• Anna Faris - Polly
• James Duval - Blank
• Nichole Hiltz - Ambrosia
• Kevin Gage - Papa Canady
• Merle Kennedy - Mama Canady
• Chandler Riley Hecht - Young May
• Rachel David - Petey
• Nora Zehetner - Hoop
• Will Estes - Chris, Adam's Roommate
• Roxanne Day - Buckle
• Samantha Adams - Lucille
• Brittney Lee Harvey - Diedre

Deaths

• Cat: dies when an ashtray is thrown at her.
• Blank: stabbed in the head with scissors.
• Polly: throat slit.Head removed from neck then neck removed from rest of body
• Ambrosia: stabbed in the head with two scalpels.Legs severed
• Buckle: stabbed in the neck.
• Adam: stabbed in the chest, then hands severed.
• May: presumably dies when she gouges her own eye out.

Reception

Roger Ebert called the film "a horror film and something more and deeper, something disturbing and oddly moving" and characterized the denouement as "a final shot that would get laughs in another kind of film, but "May" earns the right to it, and it works, and we understand it." Variety magazine critic David Rooney turned in a review that was more middle of the road, stating that the film was "More successful when the title character finally embarks on her bloody mission than in the dawdling buildup." NY Times critic Stephen Holden opined that "the performances are a cut or two above what you would find in the average slasher film. But in the end that's all it is."

The film has a "Fresh" rating (68%) among critics tallied at Rotten Tomatoes.

Awards

• Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film -Best Actress: Angela Bettis
• Catalonian International Film Festival -Best Actress: Angela Bettis; Best Screenplay: Lucky McKee
• Gérardmer Film Festival -Premiere Award: Lucky McKee
• Málaga International Week of Fantastic Cinema- Best Actress: Angela Bettis; Best Film: Lucky McKee; Best Screenplay: Lucky McKee; Youth Jury Award- Best Feature Film: Lucky McKee

External links

• May at IMDb