Woodyanders Review of Roman

Roman (2006)

An extremely offbeat and interesting companion piece to "May"

[8/10 · 4 February 2010]

Lucky McKee and Angela Bettis delivered one of the finest, most moving, and startling horror films of the early 21st century when they first collaborated on the remarkable "May." McKee and Bettis get back together for this equally striking and unusual affair, this time with McKee as the star and Bettis handling the directorial duties. The results are every bit as strange, moody, and surprising as one would expect. Lonesome and reclusive social misfit Roman (a subtle and convincing performance by McKee, who also wrote the highly idiosyncratic script) pines for a lovely young lady (a brief, but charming and memorable turn by the comely Kristen Bell) who lives in the same drab apartment complex. Roman befriends the object of his desire, but alas accidentally kills her. He decides to store her body in the bathtub and keeps it preserved with ice. Matters get complicated when flaky nonconformist free spirit Eva (delightfully played by the perky and adorable Nectar Rose) enters Roman's life and falls in love with him. McKee and Bettis expertly craft a strangely haunting and poignant character study of a fascinating maladjusted sadsack guy which also works as a very morbid and peculiar, yet thoughtful and provocative meditation on love, death, alienation, the basic human need for companionship, and the insanity of loneliness. Moreover, McKee and Bettis firmly ground the whole thing in an utterly plausible pedestrian reality which adds substantially to the movie's overall effectiveness. McKee and Rose do outstanding work in the lead roles. Kevin Ford's crisp cinematography offers a wondrous wealth of stunningly beautiful visuals. Jaye Barnes Luckett's brooding score likewise hits the harmonic spot. The surprise downbeat ending packs a powerful emotional wallop to the gut. Although the film gets bogged down a bit in overly slow pacing and suffers from a few pretentious stylistic flourishes, it nonetheless has a weirdly timeless quality and quirky appeal that's uniquely its own. Those expecting a standard ooga-booga jump-out-at-you horror shockfest will be disappointed and frustrated in equal measure; folks with a taste for something different and out of the ordinary should really dig this supremely oddball picture. Recommended.